Mass Effect: The Odd Ones Out
by GIRLIKESTACOS
Summary: None of us ever thought we would see the splendor of the Mass Effect universe outside of the games. The cool locations, people, technology, we knew it was impossible. Those thoughts were shattered in an instant when me and a few of my ragtag friends mysteriously ended up in the world of Mass Effect, joining up with Commander Shepard herself. Things would certainly be interesting.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: Hello, everybody. This was first attempt at writing a self-insert fan-fiction. I was inspired by several people on who all made great self-inserts such as iNf3ctioNZ, Herr Wozzeck, and Sarge1995. I would like to thank these people for helping inspire me to try and do this, and for entertaining me to no end. Thanks guys.**

**On a much bigger note, I am cleaning up earlier chapters of The Odd Ones Out to my current standards. Looking back to my old work on , I find it extremely cringe-worthy in terms of writing quality. I hope you guys enjoy my efforts at improving on my old work.**

…

Hi, so... where should I start?

Where CAN I start?

Well, I guess none of this will matter unless I start by telling you about us.

I'm Sean, a nobody from Maryland who, like the rest of my friends, were plunged deep into a intergalactic merry-go-round of pain, confusion, fright, bad-assery, and about every other word or phrase you can think of relating to a galactic odyssey. I led my misfit band of rag-tag friends against the might of the Reapers, and it turns out we actually won.

I'm not going to spoil that though. That wouldn't be any fun now, would it? Back on topic, my second in command, Thomas... well he and I go together like tilework, considering we've both known each other since childhood. Keen eyes, keen intellect, and a friendship that'll outshine most others, he'll keep your back covered and cleared of hostiles.

Our good'old demolitions "expert" Allen... well, the first word you think of when his name enters your head is "asshole." While he has a hard-headed attitude, he secretly has a heart of gold. Plain and simple, those who can stand to be around him, he will defend with his life, with or without the use of high-explosive ordinance. Violent ginger.

Now, Weigman, Sydney and John... they didn't show up until after the assault on Saren's Virmire base. Before their arrival, it would seem they found things about the same way as we did. Missing pets, family members, personal documents, I still have no clue how those bastards did all of that.

Damn, there I go off-topic again. Back to the rest of the team.

Weigman... we had plenty of names for our resident hand-to-hand specialist, the most common being "The Ninja" or "The Scary Guy With The Hood." Whatever you call him, Weigman lives up the the asian stereotype of being an absolute bad-ass in close quarters. I mean, he pulled all the stops in terms of scary, even putting an end to that cerberus bastard...

Oops, too much info! OK, well Sydney was the only chick from our side of the abyss that joined us. She had two, kinda important tasks she was in charge of, being both the ship's pilot and our sawbones. She never had to actually saw any of our bones, but she made sure we survived the worst of what we went through, usually with a large dose of medi-gel.

Now John... I suppose you could call him our "jack of all trades John may still hold the ship's record for most times shot, but that doesn't mean he's useless. John mostly helped work around the ship, keeping everything held together when Tali wasn't around. When not doing that, he usually busied himself working on our rust colored "Loki mech."

Well, that's the roster for you... I guess I'll start the story now. We were on the way to my house after another boring day in high school, talking about this movie we had just watched...

That was almost 30 years ago...

...

"Come on, you have to admit the battle scenes were pretty cool." Allen argued, poking Thomas with his elbow.

"The action scenes were cool, but the story didn't make any sense. It's like they did all the action scenes, but forgot to add a story." Thomas complained, rubbing his side. "And stop prodding me..."

"The story told you all you needed to know, Thomas. Aliens are invading to steal our natural resources. What else did you expect from it, especially with it being told in a military point-of-view anyway?" I ranted, looking between them both. "It was a shoot-the-aliens movie, nothing more, nothing less."

"Yeah, I guess your right." Thomas agreed, looking off at a few of the houses we passed daily.

"Ha ha ha ha, I love seeing you get knocked down a notch, Thomas" Allen teased, poking Thomas once again.

"Screw you, Allen!" Thomas said, stopping and glaring at him. "I don't know why you have to be such a di-"

"Hey hey, calm down, you guys!" I stopped. "It's just a movie, no need to get all excited."

They both looked at me, then to each other.

"Yeah, whatever..." Thomas remarked bitterly, looking away from Allen.

"Don't worry, it's all for the lolz." Allen said with a smile, giving Thomas a heavy pat on the shoulder.

I simply shrugged, holding in a big laugh as we continued walking to my place.

_"Man, I can't imagine what these two would do without me." _I thought to myself with the widest grin in the world.

"Hey, did you guys watch that new Mass Effect 3 trailer that Bioware released?"Allen started, breaking the silence,

"Yeah, the one with that sniper guy in Big Ben, right?" Thomas said.

"Yeah!" Allen shouted. "So the Reapers are finally going to attack Earth, and good old' Commander Shepard has to stop them! What is there not to be excited about?"

"Meh, it was OK, but it didn't do a whole lot for me. I guess that's why they call them teaser trailers." I said, slumping at the thought of waiting.

"Aww, come on! Didn't your hear that it's coming out this winter? You should be excited!" Thomas said, actually trying to cheer me up.

"I know it comes out this winter, it's just that I hate waiting for things." I replied, looking back at him.

"Yeah, but for now, we still have Dead Space 2 and Halo, right?" Allen said with a grin plastered on his mug.

"Of COURSE you choose the two games you kick my ass at the most to use as examples, don't you?" I glared, as Thomas gave a similar look to Allen.

"Well, umm..." Allen stuttered, before looking back ahead.

"That's what I thought." I shot back, as we continued moving.

"Man, your no fun." Allen whined, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Only with you, Allen. Only with you." Thomas shot back.

"Well, that's not completely true." I admitted, walking backwards as to face them. "I can be short with Weigman as well."

"Weigman... pah." Allen exclaimed, smiling. "Where are those three, anyways?"

"I think they're heading over Weig's place to study for that Astronomy final." Thomas said, looking back at him. "I think."

"They should really come over and play some videogames for a change, they have no idea what they're missing out on..." Allen pondered, looking down the street.

"For once, you and I agree on something." Thomas quipped with a wide smile, as we marched on.

...

When we had reached my house, I was greeted with eerie silence as I knocked on the front door.

"That's odd, don't your parents usually wait for you to come home before leaving to go shopping?" Thomas asked, attempting to look through one of the porch windows.

"Yeah, that would be the case, but their car is still on the street." I said, taking my keys out of my pocket and unlocking the door. I expected to be greeted by three loving lab retrievers, only to be met with even more silence.

This was wrong, and I didn't waste time trying to find an explanation.

"OK, there is something seriously wrong here." I said out-loud, looking at Allen and Thomas. "OK, we need to find out if I was robbed or something. Allen, check the basement, Thomas, check this floor. I'll go upstairs."

They both silently followed my instructions, as I ran up the stairs. Nothing looked broken or stolen, until I went into my dad's office. Almost all of his files, things involving taxes, finances, even his police diploma were missing. Same for the things involving my mother.

"Hey Sean, I found something!" Allen shouted from downstairs, as I grabbed my dad's old 22. revolver and stuck it inside my backpack in case of an emergency.

"What did you find?" I asked, as Thomas gave a similar look to him.

"I don't know, come look." He said, waving with his hand as we descended.

Right in the middle of my room was a small, orb shaped object emitting a rainbow of different colors. I was intimidated, because the electronics in my room were turning on and off randomly.

"It kinda looks like your mom's tie-dye, Sean" Allen commented, keeping his distance.

"You and I remember my mom's tie-dye incident very differently." I said with no humor, inching closer to the orb.

"What do you think it is? I've never seen anything like that before." Thomas asked, standing closer to Allen in an attempt to keep his distance.

"Now how am I supposed to know?" I asked, staring at the little orb.

As I stare at the orb, I begin to feel almost compelled to touch it, it's insides churning like a nebula being consumed by a black hole.

"Sean, what the fuck are you doing?" Allen asked with wide eyes, as I reach down and swipe the orb off the floor.

It feels warm in my palm for a couple of seconds before a screeching pain begins to fill my head, almost knocking me off my center of balance. The same starts happening to Thomas and Allen, as they grab their heads and collapse onto the floor in pain.

I look up at the orb, which was now spinning at incomprehensible speeds. As I reach up to try and do something to stop the pain, I begin to see my fingers turning into dust. Then my arm.

As my nerves are ripped apart, I look back to see the exact same is happening to Allen and Thomas. I give up my struggle as my limbs disappear, leaving this terrifying force to do it's work with the rest of my body.

My last thoughts before I lost consciousness?

Eh, all I remember is the pain. Kinda sad, when you think about it.


	2. Waking Up In A Hard Place

The moment I was capable of even knowing that I existed I let out a deep gasp for air. I opened my eyes, but I was as blind as a bat, seeing nothing but a blur that had decided to occupy my vision. Everything hurt, my head, my neck, my limbs...

After having my sudden realization, I quickly felt for my limbs. A wide smile formed on my face the moment I discovered I was no longer in a state of molecular disintegration. What joy.

I wasn't alone in my joy. I could hear groans coming from both Thomas and Allen, who were just a "little" more vocal in their new found joy of fully-attached limbs.

"Hey, you guys alright?" I asked, still unable to see even an inch in front of my face.

"Well... we're alive." Allen said sarcastically. "Are you having trouble seeing too?"

"Yep." Me and Thomas answered unanimously.

I kept on blinking in an attempt to regain my vision, as the feeling in my fingertips crept back. All of our surrounding I could make out was a cold, hard, metallic surface.

I kept crawling, before I touched a metal railing. I used this to pull myself off the ground, as my vision finally began showing signs of improvement. I could see a window, and a floor composed of shiny plate metal.

"_Where the hell are we?_" I asked myself, as a few more blinks finally repaired my vision.

I saw the majestic, five armed splendor of the wards, glowing in the misty purple nebula that protected it. I had to blink a few more times just to make sure my eyes really were fixed.

We are on the Citadel.

The word "we" is especially apparent, as I look back to see Allen helping Thomas back on to his feet.

"Guys! You know where we are right now?" I said, almost shouting in complete excitement.

"No, my eyes are still being assholes." Allen answered, still helping Thomas back onto his feet. "Where are we?"

"Look out that window! We are on the Citadel!" I start shouting, as my nerd beings to take over. "The heart of galactic civilization!"

"What? What do you mean? As in Mass Effect? I swear if your pulling a trick on me..." Allen starts to say, as he rubs his eyes again and staggers over.

"No I'm serious, guys! Look out the window!" I kept urging, as they finally made their way over.

Allen and Thomas both took a moment to adjust, as they squinted at the electronic horizon. Their jaws dropped, as the three of us simply stared out the window for the longest time.

"OK, what the hell is going on?" Allen finally says, looking at me and Thomas. "No, what the FUCK is going on?!"

"I don't know." I replied with a dumbfounded expression. "Um... let's take turns recalling what we remember."

"Well... I remember you being a complete retard and picking up that disco ball thing." Allen said after a moment of thought. "Seriously, why did you do that?"

"Um... I don't remember." I answered with the same dumb look. At that time, I honestly couldn't remember.

"Aren't you guys forgetting something a little more important right now?" Thomas redirected, pointing at the window. "We're in Mass Effect, don't you know what that means?"

"Yeah, it means Reapers." I said, taking off my backpack and unzipping it.

I wanted to find my cellphone so I could take a picture of this, but I couldn't find it. Instead, I found what looked like three arm-length wristbands made out of some sort of glowing tech.

"Hey guys, check out what I found." I said with a smile, gently taking them out. "Some sort of high-tech wristbands."

"Maybe they are omni-tools?" Thomas suggested, as he stared at them with even more curiosity.

"Here, let me see one of those." Allen commanded, taking the largest one from my grasp and putting it on. "Um... on... go... start..."

Allen stopped for a second after his unsuccessful attempts, an instead stared at the device. Like that, a orange hologram engulfed the entirety of his lower left arm.

"Ah, so that's how it works... you have to "want" it to turn on, if that makes any sense." Allen said with a smile, using his other hand to flip through the different options on the device. "Go on, try it."

Thomas and I quickly obliged, strapping them on and "willing" the tools to turn on. I figured that it somehow scanned your brainwaves.

Right in the middle of my thought process, there was a sharp beeping noise that started coming from our omni-tools. The three of us looked down, seeing that we had all just gotten a message. It read...

"Requested transfer for – 5,000,000 credits – from :unknown ID: - has been cleared. Thank you for your business."

The three of us looked up at one another. We all mentally agreed that this was becoming one of the best days ever, despite some other circumstances that were facing us.

"Um... wow..." I exclaimed, running my hand through my thick hair. "That's... that's kinda ridiculous..."

Our flabbergasted thoughts were thrown off as the door to the small room slid open, revealing a turian dressed in a orange outfit.

"Hey, what the hell are you kids doing in here?!" He asked in some anger, taking a few steps towards us.

"Oh, sorry sir, we were just... taking a moment to rest." I quickly made up, facing him. "We just got here, and we got lost on our way to-"

"I don't need to hear your life story, just... get the hell out before I call C-Sec." He cut of in annoyance, rubbing his plated face with his three-digit hand.

"Yes, sorry sir." I quickly apologized, as the three of us quickly got out of dodge.

"Damn humans..." The turian remarked bitterly, as he entered the room and shut the door.

The three of us wandered around for a while, receiving a variation of looks from people of varying race. It was... awesome, but in an ill-informed way. We were attracting attention I would rather avoid, though I couldn't really blame people for taking a double take at the sight of us. We weren't exactly subtle. I was wearing a oversized black army surplus jacket with a t-shirt under it, and dark blue jeans. Thomas was wearing a light jacket with a blue long-sleeved shirt and casual pants, while Allen was wearing a green hoodie and cargo pants with a camouflage pattern on them.

Not to mention all three of us had stuffed backpacks on, filled with our now useless school work among other things. We would have to ditch our clothes later, but for now, it's all we had on our backs.

"Wait, whats going on over there?" Thomas asked, as several people, mostly humans, were all grouped together watching one of the larger screens in the area.

We joined the group to listen and watch. Just by glancing at the screen I could guess what it was about.

"- _continuing to receive reports that the human colony of Eden Prime has been attacked by a sizable hostile force._" I started to hear, as murmurs increased in the crowd. "_Most reports are frantic and scattered, but most say that the Geth, a synthetic race of machines living in the Perseus Veil, attacked the colony almost twelve hours ago, killing hundreds for no discernible reason at this time. It is unknown what the motivation for the devastating surprise attack was, but we will continue to report as the story develops._"

"Well... at least we have a better idea of where we are time-wise." Thomas cracked with a small smirk.

"I think we need to get mean, very fast." I said, looking back at my friends.

"Now your speaking my language." Allen agreed with an utterly demented look now filling his face.

We asked one human where we could find the markets, and he kindly directed us to a large door up ahead. We went through to see the chaos that was the Ward markets. Dozens of different kiosks lined the room, along with the species to match. There was smoke, laughter, and a lot of yelling as people bargained their goods. It was utter chaos.

"Wow, now this beats going to the mall by a long shot." I started, breaking the silence between the three of us.

"This is insane. Where the hell are we supposed to start?" Allen asked out loud without looking at us.

"I don't know." I said, looking around the markets. "We should pool together what we have and try to get the best equipment possible."

"Good idea." Thomas agreed, opening his omni-tool and then closing it again. "Wait, how exactly are we going to get ourselves involved?"

"We'll worry about that later." I delayed quickly, eying up the best looking gun dealers I could make out.

"Yeah, right now, it's about the guns, guns, guns." Allen said with another unsettling smile.

"Don't get yourself too excited, Allen." I urged, patting him on the shoulder as we walked. "Wouldn't want a repeat of the November Incident."

"Sean, you are such an asshole!" Allen said rather loudly, stopping to stare at me. "Are you really going to remind me of that?"

"Aww, come on! It was over a year ago, you can laugh at it now!" Thomas said, trying to cheer Allen up.

"Yeah, I suppose. At least you guys are the only people in this universe who know about that." Allen agreed, calming himself down. "Don't you dare go telling Shepard or anything, or I'll... man, I'll do something..."

"Hey, no need to threaten your friends, King Whizzbang." I commented with more humor dripping from my voice. "We're the only ones you got right now."

"Fine. So lets go find a dealer or something, OK? I don't want to think about... that THING anymore." Allen urged, as we continued on.

We wandered aimlessly around the markets for a while, until we came across a place called Morlan's Shop.

"Hey, lets try this place." I told my friends, and we walked in.

"Hello there, welcome to Morlan's Famous Shop! You want many good supplies, yes? The salarian greeted from behind the counter. I'm guessing he's not going to deny paying customers just because of what they are wearing.

"Actually, yes we are!" I told him in my best poker face possible. "Me and my two friends here are looking for the best top-of-the-line combat gear on the Citadel."

"Then you've come to just the right place!" Morlan replied in a thrilled tone. "Please, check my selection of hardsuits and firearms, I'm sure you'll find something that suits your tastes!"

With that, Morlan left us to our own devices, as we browsed the place separately for what we wanted. I was personally piqued by three weapons in particular, the M-5 Phalanx Heavy Pistol, the M-76 Revenant Assault Rifle, and the M-97 Viper Sniper Rifle. I was surprised that...

"Sean, look." Thomas said, nudging me and ruining my train of thought. He was holding a cigar sized metal cylinder. "They are already using the heat sinks from ME2."

"I noticed that." I quietly agreed, nodding at him. "Just go with the flow."

After that, I started looking at the hardsuits. I decided to go with the good old basics, meaning the highest level tier of Oynx Heavy armor, which even came with a knife attacked to the front chestpiece. After spending ten minutes learning how to put it on properly, I walked out of the dressing room, feeling a new sense of confidence due to my second skin.

Thomas and Allen made similar suit decisions, though Thomas went with the Medium version. I suppose he felt the heavy was too bulky for his smaller body frame.

"Wow, you three look like your ready to fight a war!" Morlan exclaimed with a bright face.

"Well, you can never be too careful. All sorts of dangerous stuff out there in the galaxy." Allen told Morlan.

"You know it!" Morlan agreed in his fast diction. "Tell ya what... since you guys have been such supportive customers, next time you come around I'll give you a big discount."

"Wow, thanks Morlan..." I told him in a rushed tone, as our reason for coming here started to take center stage in my mind. "...but we need to get doing."

"Alright, come visit my store if you ever need anything. The discount will always available for the three of you." Morlan said, with a wave and a smile. "Oh, and don't forget to tell your friends about Morlan's Famous Shop!"

"We will, thanks!" I thanked quickly as we left for our next destination, where ever it was.


	3. Chora's Den

On our way out of the markets, we debated on what to do next.

"So, should we try going to the Presidium?" Allen asked, as we calmly walked around.

"Do you really think that C-Sec will let three heavily armed nobodies into one of the biggest political centers in the galaxy?" I replied, giving him a dumb look. "I think we should find out where Chora's Den is, and stake it out for either Shepard or Tali."

"That way, we'll get an idea of when we should make our appearance?" Thomas added with a smile.

"Exactly." I confirmed, looking at both of them and smiling. "Let's get to looking."

After downloading a map onto my omni-tool, we quickly made our way to the lower wards. One things got quiet, we started talking openly again.

"I'll be honest, I'm surprised both of you actually want to get yourselves involved in this." I pointed out, walking backwards again to face them. "These are actual bullets and explosions we're dealing with, unless this all really is just some sort of sick joke.

"Are you kidding?" Allen asked, looking at Thomas. "Why wouldn't we? We'd be out there, saving the galaxy with some of the coolest people to boot. Why wouldn't we want to get involved?"

"Allen... that has got to be one of the most brilliant things you've ever said." I complimented, giving him a thumbs up.

After roughly ten minutes of walking and elevator riding, we finally found Chora's Den, snuggled deep inside the wards. There was a clear line of people coming and going from the club, and they even had a krogan bouncer standing guard at the entrance.

"Soooo... how are we getting in?" Allen asked, as we retreated back around the corner. "I don't think he'll let kids like us inside, even with a hefty bribe."

Suddenly, our omni-tools started beeping loudly again, as we instinctively checked them.

"_Congratulations, Sean *******, your applied membership to Chora's Den has been accepted. You now have special access to our VIP section, and our full selection of beverages. Enjoy your pass._" The new message read with an attached "card" of some sort, as I looked up to see Allen and Thomas had similar looks on their faces.

"Um, this is nice and all, but who the heck keeps sending us this stuff?" Thomas asked, scratching his head. "It's starting to creep me out a little bit..."

"Believe me, I think it's kinda creepy too, but this just means there's someone watching out for us." I tried to rationalize. "Maybe we'll meet our mysterious "benefactor" sometime in the future."

"OK, can we please go in now?" Allen asked with a small glimmer in his eye. "I don't wanna stand around all day and listen to Sean quote Half-Life."

With Allen's "motivation", we walked past the line and up to the krogan bouncer, who did not look at all happy to see us.

"Get in line." He dismissed, waving his arm without looking back at us.

"Actually, my two friends and I are on the VIP list." I said without budging, as he gave me another glare.

"Are you now?" He said, putting down his datapad to fully face me. "Why don't you go to Flux, human? They serve all the weak drinks down there."

"Do we need to give you proof?" Allen asked with crossed arms, as he opened his omni-tool to show off his pass. Me and Thomas did the same.

The krogan asked growled impatiently, looking back to his datapad to check that we were actually there.

"Go in." The krogan finally agreed, opening the door for us.

"Thank you." I said with the smallest drop of attitude.

"Hey, your going to let a bunch of kids in, but not me?!" A well-dressed turian at the front of the line said in anger as we walked in.

"Stay in line, turian." The krogan ignored, pushing him back to his spot. "You can go in once you get on the list."

(Play on YouTube. /watch?v=UAGMXSD78ro )

Inside, it was apparent that the club had received a serious upgrade from the game. It was almost Star Wars-ish, with cool looking drink machines being just one of the many features. The biggest upgrade off the bat would have to be the raised ceiling, with a whole other floor visible that was built into the wall.

The place was also packed. Most of the patrons looked kind of rough, but I felt confident enough with my friends at my side. Besides, most of them looked drunk off their asses.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say that the VIP section is up there." Thomas said, pointing out the second floor. "It also looks like a good vantage point."

"Good thinking." I agreed, looking back at Allen to make sure he was still following. I had to pull him along once he started ogling at the asari dancers on the center stage.

Once we reached the stairs, we flashed our VIP passes again, as the bouncer nodded and removed the thin barrier in our way. Upstairs, it was even nicer, with a private bar and leather seats. The three of us were lucky enough to find an empty table next to the balcony that overlooked the bottom floor.

"Do you thing they'll check our age here?" Allen asked playfully, leaning backwards in his chair as soon as we sat down.

"Please tell me you aren't considering an alcoholic beverage..." I asked, burying his face into his hands.

"Nah, I was more focused on the dan-"

"Finish that statement, and you get a punch in the face." I quickly cut off, leaving him to cross his arms and stare down at the center stage.

For the first time since we had gotten here, I finally had time to think about what happened. I wanted to know how this happened, how this was possible, and if we could even get back home. These were just some of the questions I had floating around in my mind, but they would have to wait. This was not the time or place to debate heavily our inter-dimensional endeavors.

To get my mind off of our "situation", I began to play with my omni-tool as I kept my eye half-focused on the floor below. I was surprised that it wasn't that hard to use, to be honest. Before even I knew it, I was surfing the extranet from my wrist at lightning speed.

"Would you boys like anything?" A voice said from behind me, as I turned to see an asari waiter wearing one of those stupid stripper outfits that were so "popular" around here.

"Sure, do you have Pepsi here?" I asked, just now realizing that I was slightly parched.

"Um... yes we do! I can get you one of those." The waiter replied, adding my drink to her list. "What about you two?"

"I'll take some coffee if you have it." Allen said, sitting upright in his chair again. "With extra cream."

"Alright... what about you, sir?" She continued, looking at Thomas, who was completely zoned into his omni-tool.

"I'll take a glass of ice-cold water." He answered without looking away from his omni-tool.

"OK, I'll be back with your drinks!" She finished with another smile, walking away towards the back somewhere with a heavily exaggerated "sway" to her movements.

"Allen, stick your tongue back in your mouth before I cut it off." I calmly threatened, tapping the knife attacked to the front of my armor.

"Yeah, whatever." Allen said with folded arms again, looking back down to the lower floor. "So... what are we going to do about... what we know?"

"Um... elaborate." I asked, still focused on the lower floor.

"You know, our prior knowledge." He restated, leaning against the table with his elbow. "Should we tell Shepard and all those other people about what happened to us, and what we know is going to happen?"

Allen's surprisingly thoughtful question caught me off-guard. I hadn't thought about how to use our knowledge of Mass Effect 1 and 2 here.

"Well... I think for now we should keep this quiet." I said, folding my hands on the table. "For all we know, we could cause some sort of paradox if we told someone what we knew."

"But wouldn't it benefit?" Thomas asked, turning off his omni-tool. "I mean, we could solve a lot of problems beforehand if we left some sort of hints."

"Yeah, but then what happens to the canon?" I reasoned, looking back at him. "If we go around changing things, we could royally screw the storyline, and lose our one advantage in the process."

"That is a good point." Allen agreed, rubbing his chin. "That, and the paradox part. That would be very bad."

"All right, we need to have a solid agreement here." I said, leaning on the table. "We need to swear some sort of oath, an oath of silence."

"Well, your our "negotiator", why don't you think of one?" Thomas asked, leaning back in his chair.

I thought about that for a while, coming up with different ideas in my head. I finally thought of something that would stick. The asari waiter brought out our drinks while my thoughts ran free.

"How about "The Oath of Solemn Silence?" I inquired, looking at both of them.

"How does it go?" Allen asked, looking back down at the center stage as he began to lose interest.

"I swear, with all of my life and soul, that I shall never violate our solemn silence." I started in a deeper voice. "To break this oath would be a risk to everything I love and cherish, and could risk all life as we know it."

"I think we get it, Sean." Thomas said with a smirk. "Let's all just agree to never speak of the Mass Effect story unless completely necessary."

"I'll drink to that." Allen agreed, lifting up his small metal coffee cup as we did respectively. We toasted in agreement to never speak of future or past events during our time in this universe.

...

After about half an hour or so, Tali finally arrived in the club, going straight to Fist's office. She walked back out five minutes later, leaving the club slightly faster.

We followed her best we could, making sure to stay out of her sight. We saw her enter an alleyway, where she was probably going be attacked by some of Saren's men. We had to work out fast what we were going to do.

"So, what now? Should we wait out here and kill the assassins before they get to Tali?" Allen asked, as we ducked behind several cargo crate outside the entrance to the alley.

"No, we should go down and speak to her." I argued quickly, gesturing with my hands for emphasis. "If she sees we are here to help her, not hurt her, it should make it that much easier to gain her trust and join Shepard's crew."

"Yeah, but what are we going to actually do down there?" Thomas chimed in, tapping the Tempest that was strapped to his hip. "None of us have even fired a gun like this before, and I doubt it's like firing a P22, Sean."

"Well, I guess we're going to get a crash-course lesson in a few minutes." I finished, reassuring myself that it wouldn't be that bad. "You guys ready?"

"That comment doesn't exactly make me feel comfortable, Sean." Thomas whined, looking nervous.

"Oh, come on. It can't be that bad." Allen reassured, giving Thomas a friendly pat on the back. "Besides, this armor has kinetic shielding."

"That's just making it worse." Thomas continued, sounding even more nervous.

"You will be fine. Just aim, and shoot." I reassured as well, placing my hand on his shoulder. "Just follow my lead, and we'll be fine."

"Yeah, I got it." Thomas manned up, standing straight. "Let's go."

"Act casual, we're not looking for her." I urged, as we opened the door into the alley.

We walked causally down the alley, seeing one lone figure standing in the dim light, Tali, waiting for someone.

Hah, this day was just getting cooler and cooler.


	4. We Are Mortyr

We walked down the alley as normally as we could, making it look like we were heading towards the Markets, when Tali spoke to us.

"Who are you three? Are you the Shadow Broker?" She asked me, waking towards us.

"Huh? The Shadow Broker?" I asked with my well-practiced confused expression. "No, I'm Sean. These are my two friends, Thomas and Allen."

"Hello." Thomas and Allen both greeted.

"Uh, hello." Tali replied nervously, looking back to the doors. "Why are you three down here?"

"We're cutting through here to get to the markets." I explained, pointing at the door on the other side of the alleyway. "We were heading there to get some weapon mods."

"What, are you three mercenaries or something?" She asked, folding here arms.

"Um...yeah, we're a small independent group." I confirmed, threading along the conversation that was forming. "We call ourselves... Mortyr."

"Mortyr?" Tali repeated with confusion. "What do you do?"

"Oh, we specialize in cracking down on crime." I quickly fought up, as Thomas and Allen followed my lead. "We never accept any jobs from criminal elements or organizations."

"Why are you telling me this?" Tali asked, tensing back up.

"Are we not supposed to?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "What's wrong?"

"It's just... you three are the only humans that have even talked openly to me during my time on this station." She explained, rubbing her shoulder.

"Wait, you don't think we're racist, do you?" I asked, getting genuinely angry about her situation. "We are not racist in any shape or form."

"Well, it's nice to meet some people who aren't disgusted by my race for once." She paused for a second, then looked back at me. "Thanks, I guess."

"Wait, give us the chance to ask questions." Allen quickly stopped, holding out his hand. "What's all this about the Shadow Broker?"

"Well, I really shouldn't tell you..." She quickly argued, rubbing her hands together.

"If you don't want to tell us, that's fine." I said, stopping her.

"It's nothing that important, I'm just waiting here to meet with the Shadow Broker." She explained, looking at the doorway. "I have some information I want to exchange for protection."

"Um, you do know that no one ever meets the Shadow Broker in person, right?" Thomas said, gaining her attention.

"Yeah, he only works through agents." I added, folding my arms. "Even they don't know who he really is."

I could see anger in her body language already as she realized she had been duped.

"That bosh'tet set me up! He told me he was going to meet me in person!" She yelled, throwing one of her hands up in the air as she started pacing.

"Whoa, what's wrong? What's so important that you need to see the Shadow Broker in person?" I asked in a worried tone of voice.

"You know that attack on your Eden Prime?" She yelled, as her stress began to pour through her calm demeanor. "I found evidence proving that a Council Spectre named Saren was behind the attack, but he's been after me ever since I recovered it!"

"And you were going to trade this information to the Shadow Broker of all people?" Allen said with some anger. "Why didn't you try to give it to the Alliance?"

"I was afraid that they would just take it and leave me to Saren's men." She said, rubbing the rim of her helmet. "I thought with the Shadow Broker I at least had some leverage..."

"Well... do you need some help?" I asked kindly, looking between the doors "I mean, we can help you out if all you need is protection."

"I can't afford to pay you, I barely have any money left after everything that's happened..." She started, as I walked towards her and placed my hand on her shoulder.

"You need help." I told her matter-of-factly. "We don't want any of your money."

She was cut off of any protest as a turian and four salarians came into the alley, dressed in full combat armor and armed to the teeth.

"Hey! Who the hell are you three?" The turian yelled, pointing at us as he walked towards our position. "Get the hell out of here, our business is with her, not you."

"Why should we leave?" I asked, crossing my arms as he stopped about six feet from us.

"Because if you don't, you'll be breathing through a new hole in your skull." He threatened, taking out his rifle and letting it extend to it's full size without aiming at us. "I'm not going to warn you again."

"I already know Fist set me up." Tali told him off with some venom in her tone"He's not getting my data."

"Then we'll just have to take it off your cold, dead body." The assassin finished, aiming his rifle at Tali.

That set me off, the first time of many.

My reflexes kicked in, as I quickly pushed the rifle down, causing him to unload into the floor. Tali tossed a grenade, which took out two of the salarians in the back, as Thomas and Allen took down the other two with their respective weapons. I quickly whipped out my Phalanx pistol, putting three heavy rounds into the turian's midsection.

The turian hit the ground with a loud thud, dying quickly.

It took me a second to register what just happened. I had just killed someone...

"Is everyone alright?" I asked quickly, heart pounding against my ribcage.

"I'm fine." Allen answered, rifle still aimed at the salarian he had just gunned down.

"I could be better, but I could be a lot worse." Thomas replied, gripping his Tempest tightly.

"I'm...fine." Tali said, sounding shaky as well.

My own current thought process was quickly cut off once more as a woman spoke to us from the top if the stairway.

"I came here thinking I may have been too late, but it looks like you didn't need my help at all." Said thee, Commander Shepard, in the flesh.

The four of us just looked at her. She was wearing light Onyx armor, was holding an Avenger Assault Rifle, and was flanked by none other than Garrus and Wrex.

"Commander Shepard." I said, holstering my weapon.

"Um, hello." Tali greeted with her oh-so lovable confused tone. "I'm sure meeting a lot of new people today..."

"Are all of you alright? We stormed Chora's Den to get some answers out of Fist, only to find out our only lead on Saren was in danger." She said, looking at our handiwork. "Or, at least I thought she was in danger..."

"We heard our new friend here was having some troubles, so we elected to help her out." I explained, as Shepard walked down the stairs.

"Well, you did a good job of doing that." She complimented, looking at the bodies once more. Then she eyed us all up.

"How about you, Miss...?" Shepard started, walking over to her.

"Tali. Tali'Zorah nar Rayya."

"Do you really have information that could help us, Miss Zorah?" Shepard asked, looking at her.

"Yes, but I can't show it to you here." She agreed with some caution in her voice.

"Come with us, we'll take you to the Presidium." Shepard said, waving her hand. "Who are you three, anyways? Mercenaries?"

"Well, I'm Sean, this is Thomas and Allen." I explained, as they waved at Shepard, still dumbstruck at meeting her in person. "We're a new group that wanted to try and help people."

"Wanted?" Shepard repeated, crossing her arms as she stared at me.

"Yeah, well... nobody seems to want our help." I explained with some sadness in my voice, hoping for pity. "All we've basically got is this equipment and a crap apartment in the Zakera Ward."

Shepard stood there in silence, before nodding and looking down.

"Anyways, I'm guessing your looking for the data Tali has." I finished, stepping out of the way and turing around to face my two friends. I winked at them, as we began to walk away. "We should go. Goodbye, Commander."

"Sean, wait." Shepard asked, taking a step forward. "Why don't you tag along with us for now, until we get this sorted out? You've shown me that you three can handle yourselves."

"Well... I suppose so." I agreed, looking back at Thomas and Allen. "What about you guys?"

"It's not like we have anything else to do right now." Allen said, crossing his arms as Thomas nodded. "Sure."

"Alright Commander, we'll stick around for a while." I agreed, walking over and shaking her hand.

"Good to have you." Shepard said, as we left the alleyway.

With that, we all began to follow Shepard. I could hardly believe this was happening.

"You four did an impressive job back there." Garrus commented, breaking my train of thought. "My name's Garrus Vakarian."

"Nice to meet you." I said, being as friendly as possible as I shook his hand. "C-Sec?"

"Yeah, good observation." He nodded, looking back forward.

Since we were in the back of the elevator, the three of us smiled as we looked at each other.

This was going to be... interesting, to say the very least.


	5. Some Things Never Change

We arrived shortly afterwards in the Presidium, overlooking the artificial lake from the Human Embassy. We were waiting for Udina to get here, and Shepard was busy talking to Tali at the moment. We took the chance to reflect.

"Wow." Allen exclaimed, leaning against the balcony edge. "Seeing it in the vids is one thing, but seeing it in real life is...breathtaking."

"You can say that again. This beats Loch Raven by a long shot." Thomas added, looking up and down the curve of the Presidium. "I wonder who designed this Stanford Torus-type structure..."

"Sanford what?" Allen asked, confused yet again to the "surprise" of Thomas and I.

"See this section of the station, this "curved" part?" Thomas explained, pointing up. "This design is called a Stanford Torus. It's made to simulate artificial gravity."

"It's impressive." Allen spouted out, not caring much about the topic.

"It's so peaceful, no wonder they use this place to hold diplomatic relations." I commented, looking at the lake below.

"Ha! Diplomats are too busy fighting with one another to truly appreciate it." Thomas added, crossing his arms. "I pity them."

"Some things will never change..." Allen said, closing his eyes.

We all stood there in silence for the next few minutes, listening to the ambiance, until Thomas broke the ice again.

"Anyway, Sean, what the hell is Mortyr supposed to be?" Thomas asked with a quizzical expression plastered on his face.

"It's the name of an obscure little video game from 1999." I answered, looking back at him. "It just slipped into my head while talking to Tali, and I couldn't think of anything else."

"Well, I guess it'll have to do. Can't really change our name now." Allen said with some annoyance in his voice.

As we finished talking, Shepard walked over to us.

"Well you three, tell me about yourselves." Shepard asked in a friendly tone, taking a seat and looking us over with sharp eyes.

"Well, the three of us have been friends since we were six." I began to explain. "We were raised out in the Terminus, but our colony was raided by Batarians and practically destroyed."

"It must have been terrible." Shepard said with much pity in her voice. "Parents?"

"We don't know what happened to our parents." I continued, leaning against the balcony as I scrutinized Shepard quietly for a few seconds. "We went to Earth, finished our educations, got minor combat training, and came to the Citadel looking for work."

"When we got here, we found out work isn't as clean as it in on Earth. We got some equipment, and decided to start our little group." Thomas added, folding his arms again.

"We haven't been doing as well as we had hoped." Allen chimed in, turning around. "We've only gotten a couple jobs in the last few months, and they didn't pay very well."

"Why didn't you three just join the Alliance?" Shepard asked the three of us, holding up her hand casually.

"We didn't like all the rules and regulations that would have gotten in our way." I explained, looking down. "We wanted to stop crime, not stand around on some military base all day."

"Well, the three of you know how to handle yourselves." Shepard said with a smile. "I'm glad to have you on the team."

"Thanks, Commander." I thanked, shaking her hand as Thomas and Allen did the same. "We promise we won't screw this up for you."

Shepard turned to walk away, when she turned back to me and said, "Sean, what is that?" looking at my surplus jacket.

"Oh, this. This is the only thing left of my family." I explained, looking at the coat. "After the attack, we lived in my Uncle's house on Earth. I couple days before he died, he bought me this vintage coat, saying that it's what the US military used to wear while their troops were on leave. I've kept this coat ever since."

This was probably the most truthful I had been by this point. All of what I just told Shepard there was actually true, except for the attack part, that never happened.

"It looks like it's in good condition." Shepard commented, looking back down.

"I love this thing with my life." I added with a smile.

"Why is it so big?" She scrutinized, leaning.

"My Uncle got it a few sizes bigger than what I was." I explained, shifting my shoulders. "He did it because I was still growing. Now it fits like a glove"

She nodded in respect, as she nodded to Thomas and Allen as well, walking off.

I stood there for a minute, thinking about my Uncle for the first time in a while. He died of a combination of lung cancer and pneumonia a few years ago. He was always working, never stopped helping people. He did that for 82 years.

"_Damn, I'm going to miss that man._" I thought to myself, trying to hold in my emotions.

"Sean, are you alright?" Thomas asked, grabbing my shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine. God, I miss him..." I finished under my breath.

Udina then barged into the room, yelling about how Shepard shot up Chora's Den, and then Tali shows him the data over Saren. After asking about Tali, he turns to us.

"...and who are you three!" He spat out with anger in his voice. "Shepard, we don't have time to give local kids a field trip!"

"Hey, you ungrateful bastard, we are the people who saved Ms. Tali Zorah's life here, and your damn evidence, so you better show some respect." I said in a threatening tone. "I know you only care about the damn evidence, but I'm going to let that go. "

"How dare you! I should have you arrested!" Udina threatened, walking towards me.

Shepard then stepped in between us, halting Udina in his tracks.

"Hey, Udina, calm down. These guys helped us out, so I'm letting them join my team." She stopped, keeping him away "If you don't like it, too bad."

"Thank you, Shepard. It's nice to know someone appreciates our skills." I thanked while still glaring at Udina.

"No problem." She replied, inviting us over. "Now, I'm going to go to the Council Chambers to present the evidence. I want Ash and Kaiden to come with me. The rest of you, stay here until I get back."

With that, she, Udina, Anderson, Kaidan and Ash left, leaving the three of us, Garrus, Wrex, and Tali. Garrus elected to come over and speak to us again.

"I've never seen anyone talk that way to a politician before." Garrus said with some humor in his voice. "Nice work, Sean."

"Ah, it was nothing. Bastard had it coming to him." I dismissed, turning back around. "Thanks for the compliment."

Garrus left, then Tali came up to us.

"I... never did thank you for your help back there." She said, sounding nervous. "I can't describe how much it means to me."

"It's OK, Tali." I assured in my kindest voice. "That's the sort of thing we came here to do."

"Thank you. All three of you." She thanked once again, turning around quickly and walking away.

"Ooh, doesn't Sean have a thing for Quarians?" Allen mocked, throwing my concentration off.

Dammit, I knew I shouldn't have told him I was a Talimancer.

"Shut up, Allen." I replied bluntly, leaning back against the balcony ledge.

"What's the matter? Have the hots for Tali?" Allen teased with a wide grin. "I can just see it now..."

"Just because I did that doesn't mean that I'll happen here." I argued, starting to get really angry. "Don't start acting immature again, or I swear to god I will knock your lights out."

"Sure, whatever." Allen said, with a smile still on his face.

We stood there for the rest of the time, playing with our omni-tools or making small talk, but for some reason I was then overcome with more questions regarding our predicament, mostly as to what was doing all of this, and why us, of all people.

I still had trouble trying to wrap my head around the events of the last few hours. Though I love the tech of the Mass Effect universe, I am someone who normally considers themselves to be grounded in natural logic. I was under the impression that half of the things around me were scientifically impossible.

Even though I thought it was awesome, I still couldn't help but feel my logical center going off with red alerts every time I even looked at my omni-tool.

It was some strong stuff to take in.

Even though I wanted to stop thinking about it, I still wanted answers regarding what exactly fucking happened in my house. I found myself thinking more and more about it. I assured myself that answers would come soon, but like I've stated before, I hate waiting for things.

I looked out to the Presidium lake once more, pondering our future with a smile.


	6. The Normandy And Chocolate

Shepard, Anderson, and Udina came back from the Council Chambers about a hour later. She looked significantly more happy once I saw her face.

"So, what happened?" I asked, as we all walked over to her.

"I have been made the first human Spectre." Shepard told us causally, cracking her neck.

"Wow..." Allen said, looking at Shepard for a bit, then back to me and Thomas. "Isn't this cool? We're working with the first human Spectre."

"It's a honor, Commander." I said with a smile. "So... I'm guessing you are planning to go after Saren?"

"Yes, we have been given the task of tracking him down and bringing him to justice." Shepard said to all of us with her hands on her hips. "Captain Anderson has given me command of the Normandy for our mission."

"Sounds like a challenging mission." Allen commented, cracking his knuckles. "When do we start?"

"Right now." Shepard responded quickly, looking to everyone else as they made their comments.

Nerd mode began to go off in my head.

"_Oh man, oh MAN. I'm going to get to see the Normandy in person!_" I thought with excitement.

I looked at Thomas and Allen. I could see them fidgeting too.

"_I see Nerd Mode is contagious._" I continued to think with another smile.

"The ship is yours now, Shepard." Anderson said, shaking the commander's hand. "Make sure you treat her well."

"Don't worry. I will." Shepard responded confidentially.

"Good to hear. Anyway, before you go, Shepard, there's something I need to tell you in private." Anderson told her, looking at us.

"Alright. While I'm talking to the captain, I want all of you to go to the Normandy and get settled in." She ordered, looking around at us. "Ash, Kaidan, wait outside."

At that point, Nerd Mode ended abruptly as Shepard gave the three of us specifically, new orders as everyone else left.

"Sean, Allen, Thomas, I want the three of you to go see our medical officer Dr. Chakwas for a check-up." Shepard ordered the three of us, pointing with her finger. "I need to know for sure that you are all in peak physical form."

"Wait, do you mean a physical?" I asked, suddenly losing my happy mood.

"Yes." Shepard said bluntly.

"Aw, come on, really? I hate physicals." I said, rubbing my shoulder.

"Sean, Chakwas isn't going to hurt you, if that's what you are afraid of." Shepard told me with a small smile of amusement.

"Yeah Sean, buck up." Allen said playfully, putting his hand on my shoulder. "All you have to do is turn your head and cough."

"That's a hernia exam, you retard." I said with some anger, pushing his hand off as I looked back to Shepard. "Sorry, I guess I just don't like being studied, that's all."

"Just do it, Sean." Shepard ordered with finality, crossing her arms. "The sooner you do it, the sooner it'll be over."

"Yeah, you're right." I agreed, pouting slightly.

"Good." She finished, putting her arms back down. "Now get to the Normandy, Chakwas should be done with all three of you by the time I arrive."

We nodded, and left the Human Embassy quickly to catch up with everyone else. We just barely caught them before the elevator doors closed.

"What happened with you three?" Garrus asked, leaning against the elevator wall.

"Shepard ordered us to have physicals." I answered with some resentment. "I hate having physicals."

"I'm sure you'll do fine." Garrus said with his calm drawl.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." I said dryly, as the elevator sped down the shaft.

"Hey, come on, Sean, perk up." Allen urged with a smile carved on his face. "Don't forget that we're going to stay on an Alliance warship."

"Yeah, that is a fact." I agreed with a smirk, crossing my arms once again at the thought. "It'll be a blast."

...

Thomas asked me something I knew was going to be mentioned eventually.

"Where do you think I can find some chocolate around here?" Thomas inquired as we walked through the wards.

"Thomas, son of a bitch..." I started, but was cut off by Allen.

"Really dude?" Allen exclaimed with some anger. "Are you really worried about fucking chocolate right now?"

Tali got a confused look on her face.

"What is chocolate?" She asked with curiosity.

"Uh, well, chocolate is a sweet from Earth." I started to explain as best I could. "Thomas here has an unhealthy love for the stuff, but he hasn't been able to find it around here."

"It's more common on Earth than it is out here." Allen added, looking back at Thomas with crossed arms. "He still asks us where to find it, though."

"Well, I need chocolate. What can I say?" Thomas said with another smile, holding out his arms.

"You can say nothing. All you do is talk about chocolate." Allen explained with anger. "Chocolate this, chocolate that. Talk about something different for a change, Christ."

"I can't help it. You know that." Thomas said with a sadder face.

"Last time I checked, chocolate wasn't an addictive substance." I said to him, poking him in the chest. "Get over it."

"Fine, but I'm remembering this." He informed me with much resentment in his voice.

"Sure, Thomas, sure." I said with sarcasm in my voice.

"You three are a strange bunch." Tali said with humor.

"Yeah, well you'll have to learn to live with it, unfortunately." I said with a smile, walking backwards as to face her. "This sort of exchange is considered normal between us three."

"Well, I suppose I don't have to be worried about getting bored." Garrus sarcastically replied. "You three seem to be filled with energy."

"You got that part right." I agreed, looking over at him. "I've been dealing with these two for years."

"You three certainly don't seem like most friends." Garrus observed, as we entered the C-Sec academy. "You have been through something big."

"More than I care to elaborate on, to be perfectly honest." I replied, as we walked into another elevator. "I don't mean to be short, but I really don't want to think about it.

Garrus nodded respectfully, as Wrex turned to face me.

"I couldn't have been that bad, whatever you three went through." Wrex challenged with his deep voice, looking me in the eyes. "All I see in on you is a little scar."

"Yeah... that was from a... broken window." I answered slowly, running my finger over the small inconsistency on my cheek. "It blew out during the attack on our colony."

It wasn't actually from a broken window, but to much embarrassment, a sharp stick I walked right into while walking one of my dogs early in the morning. I decided to stay quiet from that point on.

…

When we reached the Normandy, the three of us were, quiet simply, awestruck. The Normandy was a little bit bigger than I remembered it being, but I'm sure that was for special reasons. It was sleek, shiny, heavily armed, and awesome.

"Wow, that is a cool ship." Allen exclaimed, leaning on the railing. "It looks kinda... majestic in a way."

"It looks like a giant stealth jet in my honest opinion." Thomas observed, stopping to stare at the ship.

"So this is the Normandy... our new "home" of sorts." I said with a smile, looking at the airlock. "Lets go inside and get this over with."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Thomas agreed, following me inside along with everyone else.

The inside was even more impressive than the outside. The CIC was bustling with activity, with people handing each other data and such. We walked down the stairs to the crew deck, and saw some things that were not in the game, most notably bathrooms and a exercise room. The sleeper pods were on the far side of the deck, with Chakwas' office on the right side.

"_Well, lets get this over with._" I thought bitterly to myself, walking towards the door.

The three of us walked into the med bay, seeing a older woman siting at her desk, looking at her computer. The doctor was in.

"Hello." She welcomed, standing up and walking over. "I'll assume you three are the ones Shepard wanted me to do check-ups on?"

"Yeah, we are your patients for today." I confirmed, nodding slightly. "I'm Sean, this is Thomas and Allen."

"Nice to meet you three." She greeted, shaking each of our hands. "So... who will I be seeing first?"

"I'll go." Allen volunteered, looking back at me. "Sean can go after my examination is finished."

"Fine. I'll wait out here." I agreed with a slightly more bitter tone, we walked out to give them their privacy. Thomas and I took a seat at the table in the center of the room, relaxing. I actually drifted off into sleep, not realizing how exhausted I actually was.

...

After about fifteen minutes, Allen came back out of the med bay, wearing a tank-top and the standard issue crew jeans.

"So, how did it go?" I asked, leaning up to face him.

"It went fine. I'm very slightly overweight, but that was to be expected." He said, taking a seat. "She says if I stay active, I should burn it off quickly."

"Sounds good." I complimented, sighing deeply. "Well, I suppose I'll go next..."

"Hey, don't sweat it." Allen said, folding his hands behind his head. "The bed isn't that cold."

"Funny, gingey." I replied, walking off.

The med bay was, in fact, cold. I had to give Allen that. Chakwas was already waiting for me, standing by her desk as she finished reading.

"Hello Sean." She greeted, looking up from the datapad. "If you can take off your armor, we'll get started."

I complied, taking off my armor and placing it on the edge of the bed. The chill wasn't so bad when you actually sat on the bed.

"So Sean, how are you feeling?" Chakwas asked, putting down her datapad and giving me her full attention.

"I'm feeling fine, I guess." I replied with honesty, rubbing my cold shoulder.

"You guess? Why only "you guess?" She asked with a small smirk.

"Well, I just don't like physicals." I explained, turning my head to the side.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm not going to ask you to strip down completely, if that's what concerns you." She reassured, leaning against the bed behind her and picking the datapad back up. "But, before we start, I need to ask you some questions."

"OK, shoot." I replied in a friendly manner, leaning forward.

"Have you been to a doctor recently?" She started, looking hard at me.

"Um... to be honest... I haven't been to a doctor since I was 12." I said, making her eyebrows go up.

"In that case, I'll have to give you a few shots." She continued, looking to the datapad, then back to me. "Alright... do you have any inherited medical conditions?"

"My family has a long history with arthritis. My father had it. My mother had it." I answered, thinking about them once more.

"OK, that shouldn't be to hard to treat." She said, actually managing to surprise me, despite the fact that this was the future. "Do you have any existing conditions as of now?"

"Well, I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome when I was 13." I explained with honesty. "I suffer from bad headaches from time to time."

"Asperger's Syndrome is a fairly common condition." She said with a nod. "Are there any oddities you suffer from because of it?"

"Not really, I've had therapy that helped me learn how to function normally in social situations." I said, scratching my neck. "Been a normal member of society since I was in middle school."

"Alright then... the headaches, unfortunately, I cannot do much about." She said, looking up at me. "I can give you medication to help stop the pain when they occur."

"That sounds like a cool deal to me." I agreed, nodding.

"Have you ever abused any sort of drugs or prescription medication?" She continued, looking back up at me.

"No." I said with finality. "I never have, and never will."

"OK, good. A lot of people get mixed up in drug and medication abuse nowadays." She explained. "Good morals."

"Thanks." I agreed, shifting on the bed. "My dad was a cop before he died."

"Police officers are very good role models." She commented, putting down her datapad. "Now, I'll go get the vaccines you need."

"Lets get this over with." I said with dome discomfort, as she walked over with a silver tray. On it, was what looked like the needle gun from Total Recall, and several small vials.

"I'll need you to lie down for this." She told me, as she set the tray down. "Please take off your shirt.

I complied, taking off my shirt and lying down on the bed. I shut my eyes, knowing what was coming next.

…

I came back out fifteen minutes later, seeing Allen and Thomas making small talk with one another.

"Well, your alive." Allen said with a smirk, looking away from Thomas. "That's always a good sign."

"Yeah, lets see you get seven shots in your arms and see how you like it." I said, looking at the small bandages covering the injection sites.

"Oh, it couldn't have been that bad." Allen said, standing up and walking over to me.

Heart: check, lungs: check, eyes: check..." Allen said with exaggeration, pretending to scrutinize me heavily as he grabbed one of my hands. "One, two, three, four, five... only thing missing is your balls."

"Very funny." I said with finality, shoving Allen away. "Go lose some weight."

"Hey, I resent that!" Allen argued, plopping himself back into his seat.

"What were you results?" Thomas asked, looking over at me from his chair.

"I don't have any medical problems, if that's what you mean." I reassured, holding out my hand. "I'm taller that both of you, and I'm the perfect weight."

"Cool." Thomas asked with another sly smirk. "Did you get a lollypop for being a good boy?"

"Your turn, Mr. Chocolate." I shot back, pointing at the back with my thumb.

"Fine. I'll be back." He said in a bad Australian accent, as he walked into the med bay.


	7. Meet The Team

Whilst waiting for Thomas to finish his check-up, Allen and I decided to grab a bite from the mess hall. We discovered that they actually used synthesizers here that created near perfect imitations of common meals, dispensing them onto trays with standard side dishes.

"Well... this is different." Allen whispered to me, leaning over. "I wonder what kind of stuff can be made here..."

"All I know is that if we don't find an option for chocolate,we will never hear the end of it." I said with a slightly bitter tone, using my finger to flip through the holographic interface.

"Heh, ain't that the truth." Allen agreed, doing the same for use unit next to me.

After searching for about two minutes, I finally found the blasted option for chocolate. It, being an non-standard, would actually cost me some credits. I paid up, and got the rest of my meal. Sitting down, I pulled my dad's old .22 revolver out of my pocket and placed it on the table. I had grown tired of having it weigh down the side my jacket.

"Odd, it actually doesn't smell as bad as I expected." Allen said with a smile, setting his tray down on table and taking a seat. His tray was a standard, I assumed. It was only a sandwich and a side of peas.

"Five credits says you don't like it." I challenged with a smirk, leaning against the table with my elbow.

"Sure, but only if that applies to you, as well." He said, crossing his arms.

"Deal." I agreed, as I looked down at my tray. On it was a simple serving of fried rice, and the chocolate bar I had ordered for Thomas.

I took my spork, swallowing a few spoonfuls of the oily rice. It actually, to my surprise, tasted rather good. Still nothing compared to mom's recipe, though...

"Wow, that was great." I exclaimed in a exaggerated, drawn out tone as I pat my belly. "My compliments to the chef."

"Ha ha." Allen mocked out of anger, picking up his sandwich. "I will prove to you that this is good."

"Alright, then what are you waiting for?" I said with the same smile, watching him attentively.

Allen quickly took a large bite out of the sandwich and started chewing. About five seconds later, he stopped.

"Oh, what's the matter?" I asked with and evil smile.

"_mu muuum mo mi ms mee_." Allen mumbled with a filled mouth, as he started chewing again.

"Sorry, what was that?" I inquired playfully, tapping the underside of this jaw with my index finger. "Try chewing."

Allen quickly swallowed what was in his mouth, taking his glass of water and chugging it.

"I said, I didn't know it was wheat." He explained, pointing at the bread. "Wheat bread."

"So?" I challenged with another smile, leaning my head on my arm.

"I fucking hate wheat bread." Allen said in disgust, setting the sandwich down.

"Oh, so sorry." I said with the same smile, holding out my free hand. "Five creds."

"Asshole." Allen explained with a frown, sending the creds to my omni-tool.

Out little contest had ended just in time for someone else to join the conversation.

"Sean and...Allen, right?" I heard a voice from behind me ask. I turned to see Kaidan, holding his own tray as he walked around the table.

"You would be correct." I greeted, as he sat across from us. "You were with Shepard, right?"

"Yeah, the name's Kaidan." He introduced, holding out his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Kaidan." I responded, stretching out my arm to return the gesture. "Sorry we didn't introduce ourselves earlier."

"It's no big deal." He brushed off, looking down at his tray. "So, you three are mercenaries?"

"I guess you could say that." I shrugged, picking up the small piece of cornbread that came with the meal. "We haven't found much work as of late."

"Is Shepard paying you three?" He asked, giving us a confused glance.

"No no no, we are certainly not doing this for any payment." I corrected, casually pointing my index finger at him. "We're here because Shepard asked us to."

"But what do you have to gain from it?" Kaidan asked with another curious glance. "I was under the impression that mercenaries were only out for the money."

"Just because we're mercenaries doesn't mean we're greedy." I pointed out, taking another bite out of my cornbread.

I looked over a Allen, who was now meticulously disassembling his sandwich, much to my annoyance.

"Hey Kaidan, you're a biotic, right?" Allen asked, stopping and looking at him.

"Yeah, I am." He confirmed. "What about it?"

"I was curious... how exactly do you use them?" Allen elaborated with curiosity. "Like do you do it all with your mind, or is it like a Star Wars "force" thing?"

"I control biotics using my nervous system." Kaidan answered quickly, putting his spork down. "My L-2 implant helps control and concentrate them into controllable energy fields."

"Don't L-2s have bad health problems?" Allen prodded deeper, leaning against his hand.

"Most do, but luckily, I just get migraines." Kaidan explained, looking over at my father's old .22 "Wait, what is that?"

"Oh, this?" I asked, picking up the revolver and twirling it on my finger. "This is my father's old Colt Diamondback, chambered for .22 Long Rifle. It's been passed down through my family ever since they were released in 1966."

"I've never seen a pistol that old outside of a museum." He commented with a small smile. "Your father just let you have something like that?"

"Well... not exactly..." I said in a softer tone, putting on my distraught face.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up anything personal." Kaidan tried to correct, holding up his hand.

"Don't be sorry. Besides, there's a phrase my good old polish dad would say when my mother and I would talk during dinner." I forgave, puffing my chest out. "It's time for eating, not talking!"

"HA! Those sound like words of wisdom!" He agreed with another smile, raising his metal cup.

"Damn right, now lets eat." I agreed, raising mine as we took long gulps.

We sat there in silence for the rest of the time, eating our respective meals. After I was finished, I disposed of my trash, stuffed the bar in my backpack, and went to check one last thing before going to the cargo hold.

I walked back to the Med Bay, and was surprised to see Thomas was still in there. Since I didn't have anything better to do, I decided to go take a look around the ship.

Considering the fact that I already had a hatred for the infamous elevators in the first Mass Effect, I was thrilled to see there was a ladder next to the shaft that went down to the bottom. I quickly slid down, walking into the cargo hold.

Here, I could see a lot more activity. Crew members were moving around quickly in prep for Shepard's mission. Ashley was taking inventory over in the corner, Garrus was getting set up next to the Mako, and Wrex was doing absolutely nothing, looking bored while leaning against a stack of crates.

I decided to go see Tali.

Inside the engine room, the mass effect core pulsated with energy, bathing the room with bursts of brilliant light. Tali was busy talking to engineer Adams when I walked in. She noticed me, stopping.

"Um... can you give me a minute." She asked Adams, turning back to him.

Adams nodded and moved to his console, as I walked over to her.

"So... cool ship, huh?" I commented with a smile, looking at the core again.

"That's an understatement." She replied with humor. "This is the most amazing thing I have ever seen."

"It is quite something." I agreed, looking back at the core. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you abo-"

"Sean, there you are." I heard, turning to see Shepard waiting in the hallway. "Come with me, I need to show you something."

"Um, alright then." I agreed, looking back to Tali. "I'll be back later, bye."

"See you later." Tali finished, walking back to Adams as I joined Shepard.

"What's up, Shepard?" I asked, following her back to the elevator.

"Well, since you and your friends will be staying with us for a while, I thought i'd give you somewhere to stay." She explained with a smile, as the elevator ascended. "I think you three will like it."

…

**A/N: This chapter is really short, sorry.**


	8. We Are Not Alone

After the lift finally got to the top, Shepard collected Allen and brought us both to our room. When Shepard opened the door, I was shocked to say the least. The room was big, about as big as three of my old rooms put together. There was a couch, a large screen, presumably to watch movies, a set of lockers, a terminal, and three beds. There was a window looking out on space, where we could see the Citadel as we pulled away from it. I was stunned to say the least. I turned to Allen to see he had the same reaction as I did.

"This was meant to be the Officer's Lounge, but since I have my own room, I thought you guys would like to use it." Shepard said, sounding proud of herself.

"Wow Shepard, I don't know what to say. This is more than we could have hoped for." Allen said, turning to Shepard.

"This is great! Is this real?" I asked myself out loud.

"It sure is. I can't wait to see Thomas' reaction when he comes out of surgery." Allen said, pinching my arm.

"Ow! Why did you do that? You didn't have to pinch me! Besides, I didn't ask if I was dreaming, numbskull!" I responded, slugging Allen in the arm.

"Ha ha ha, that was so worth it!" He said, laughing at me.

"Screw you, Allen." I said, slugging him again.

Shepard stepped in between us. "Alright, you two. Calm down. I don't have to take this away from you, do I?" She said, crossing her arms.

"No, sorry Shepard." We both said quickly.

"Good. Now get settled we have a long trip ahead of us." She told us.

I stopped her and asked, "Where are we going first?"

"We are going to Noveria to find a lead on Benezia, and influential Asari matriarch who has been helping Saren do his dirty work." She told the two of us.

"Cool. When are we going to arrive?" I said, crossing my arms.

"We will be arriving in about 8 hours. Get some rest, boys." She said, and walked away, the door shutting behind her.

I collapsed on the couch, letting out a sigh that I had been holding in for ages. Allen sat down on one of the beds, and started removing parts of his armor.

"Whew, this has been one hell of a day." I said out loud.

"You can say that again. I never thought I would ever shoot someone in my entire life. So, we are on Shepard's team. Did one of you two slip me drugs or something, cause this feels like one hell of an acid trip to me. Not that I would know what it feels like..." He said, looking me in the eye for a split second before going back to his armor.

"No, no drugs. No nothing. We are all in this together, and I still don't know how we got here. I ended up here the same way you did." I said confidentially, opening my Omni-tool.

"How did we end up here?" He said, putting emphasis on the word "how". "That's what I want to know. I also want to know if we can get back to your own universe, cause I didn't plan on spending the rest of my life shooting people." He stated, not looking up from his armor.

"We aren't going to me spending the rest of our life shooting people, but for now, we go where Shepard goes, even if that means shooting people will be one of our doings." I said, looking out the window, then back to my Omni-tool.

"Fine, but after we deal with Saren, we need to start looking for answers." Allen agreed, looking at me.

"Sure." I said, when I looked at the chocolate bar sitting on the table, and remembered something. "Do you know when Thomas is suppose to be released from surgery?"

"I think he should be finished in a couple more minu-" Allen started, but was cut off when the doors opened. There stood Thomas. He chuckled when he saw the room, and walked in.

"Thomas! Welcome back to the land of the living!" I said cheerfully as Thomas walked in.

"Good to see you, Lug-Nut. You look weird without glasses." Allen said, laughing a bit seeing Thomas.

"Yeah, thanks for the warm reception." He said, giving Allen the stink-eye, then looking around the room one more time. "I'm really liking the new digs, guys." He said, looking at the both of us.

"Well, you can thank Shepard for that. She is the only officer on the ship, and since she has the Captain Quarters, she decided to give us this." I said, holding my arms up.

"Well, it's all good. Besides, I don't like sleeping around people I don't know." Thomas said. Allen and I took one look at each other, and broke out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Thomas asked, looking mad.

"Ha ha ha! Oh god, Thomas, You have no idea how gay that just sounded!" I said while laughing.

Allen was unable to say anything he was laughing so hard.

Thomas looked like he was going to yell something, but then cut himself off.

"Ohhhhh...damn. I just screwed up big time." He said, looking at his feet.

"Yeah you did! That was pretty good, Thomas. Can you do that again?" I said, still chuckling.

"No, I will not. And on a latter note, you two are assholes." Thomas said, crossing his arms.

"Oh well." I started, holing the chocolate bar. "I WAS going to give you this bar of chocolate, but now...

Thomas's eyes lit up and became as big a dinner plates. "OK! I'm sorry! Please, don't take that bar!"

"OK, I'm just joking. Here you go, Thomas." I said, giving him the bar.

"Thanks!" Thomas said, taking the bar and ripping off the wrapper.

"Alright, now take a seat. We need to go over our back story. I already have one set up, so you all need to go with it." I said, taking off my coat.

For the next hour, the three of us went over our back story, going into details and adding a few countermeasures in case we were questioned. During that time, I took off my armor, setting it in my locker and putting on a Normandy uniform, wearing my jacket over it. Even though this was a state-of-the-art warship, it was really cold in here. When wearing my jacket, it became a second thought. After we were finished, we all retired for the first time since we got here. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

…

I woke up, checking to see id I was still in Mass Effect. I was, of course. Both Thomas and Allen were still asleep. I checked the time to see it was 5:00 am.

"_Ha, my brain still runs on the school clock._" I thought to myself.

I figured I would go make breakfast before the rest of the crew got up, so I put on my jacket and left the room. When I walked to the Mess, I saw that Garrus was already up.

"Good morning, Garrus." I said groggily.

"Hi Sean." He said, waiting for his food to finish.

"You sure are up awfully early." I told him, wiping the gel out of my eyes.

"Same can be said for you. Why are you up so early?" He asked.

"I guess I still run on High School time. This is the time I used to usually woke up to get ready." I told him as his food dinged in the machine.

"Huh, funny how that sticks to you. This is when I usually woke up to start my shift a C-Sec." He said, taking his food out of the machine.

"You woke up this early to go to your job? I woke up this early so I had more time to play video games before school started. School only started at 7:20 when I was going."

"Nope. This is when my shift would start. Damn bureaucrats think that in order to cut down on "labor cost" they need to cut our downtime to do it." Garrus said with a flame in his words.

"Sounds like they were hard on you guys in C-Sec." I said, entering my breakfast in the machine.

"Well, it wasn't a dictatorship all the time, but they did have their moments. Things like that Saren case make me think that banging my head against the wall accomplished more than actually doing my job the way it's supposed to be done." He said as he started to eat his...thing.

"_Man, what the fuck is that?_" I thought as I looked at what he was eating. It looked like a small intestine mixed with Cream-A-Wheat.

"What's wrong?" He asked. Looking up from his food.

"Uhh, nothing. What are you eating?" I asked, still staring at his bowl.

"It's ramen. Why? Is there something wrong?" He said, looking confused.

"That's Turian ramen? It doesn't look anything like our ramen." I said. Garrus just shrugged and ate his food.

By that point, my food was finished, and members of the crew began to wake up. After I finished my food, I woke up Allen and Thomas, informing them we were still in Mass Effect and that we need to get ready for the mission.

An hour later, the three of us were suited up again, waiting in the Comm Room for the rest of the team to get here. Shepard, Wrex, and Tali were standing here, waiting for Garrus, Ash, and Kaidan, while I was playing with my Omni-tool. I looked up the news on Noveria, only to discover a large amount of nothing was going on. Out of boredom, I decided to look at a article in the finance section called " Big Turn Around Foe Interstellar Dynamics" in the finance section, when I saw something that made my heart skip a beat.

The headline read "A newcomer to Noveria who goes by the name Arthur **** has found a solution to Interstellar Dynamic' financial breakdown. Mr. **** has been offered a job as the company's head financial accountant by Interstellar Dynamics' for his help."

"_No, that can't be._" I thought, scrolling down to the pictures. I found one with a man shaking the hand of the owner of Interstellar Dynamics. He was wearing a suit, thick glasses, and had brown, thinning hair.

"_Uncle._"

I excused myself from the Briefing Room, saying I was starting to get another headache, and walked back down to my quarters. I checked the date the picture was taken. I was taken yesterday. I checked for a address. He was currently living in the spaceport apartment complex.

"I have to find him."

I sent a message to Thomas and Allen telling them to get down here. When they arrived, they didn't look too happy.

"You better have a good reason for pulling us out of there. Shepard looked pissed when we left." Allen said, pissed off.

"You guys, I don't think we're alone." I said, sounding shaky.

"What do you mean? Did you find a lead on how we got here?" Thomas asked intently.

"Yeah." I replied sheepishly. "I found an article in the finance section of Noveria News. It had a picture of a man that looked exactly like my Uncle." I said, showing them the article.

"Holy shit! So we aren't the only ones here?" Allen said with excitement in his voice.

"Yeah. But there's one snag." I said, feeling sick.

"What?" Thomas asked.

"My Uncle died a month ago." I said quietly.

"What?" They both asked.

"You remember all those days I was absent last month, guys?" They nodded. "I was absent because I was grieving over my Uncle's death." I said, staring at the floor.

"Wait, so are you saying your Uncle didn't die?" Allen asked, not sure what to think.

"He did die." I said, holding back tears. "I stood over his casket and prayed for him the day of his funeral." I said, starting to cry as the images of is funeral flooded back into my mind.

"Oh shit. I'm sorry, Sean. I didn't mean to upset you." Allen said, patting my back.

"It's OK. I just thought of something that I hadn't thought about for a while." I said, wiping away tears. "I'll be fine. We should get back to the briefing room." I said, banishing Uncle from my mind.

"Wait, Sean. We need this." Thomas started. "If this guy is your Uncle, he may know how we got here." Thomas said in a confident tone. "We need to find him."

"OK, we can do that." I said, standing up. "Let's roll out."

**Author's Note: Sorry that I didn't get to the combat. This is to show that we are not alone. All the action and soul-searching will be much later. Please review and subscribe to my story. Well until next time, this is GIR, and we will see you next time. P.S Yeah! This is my longest chapter yet! Sweet!  
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	9. Shore Leave With Tali

The three of us walked back to the Briefing Room. When we got there, we saw that the rest of the team had already arrived, and were waiting for us.

"Sorry we left like that. I misplaced Sean's headache medicine, and he needed help finding it." Allen told Shepard.

"It's fine, but after this mission Sean, I want you to get that operation." Catherine told me.

"Sure, Shepard. I'll do that." I said with a hint of irritation in my voice.

"Good, now lets get this underway." Shepard said, then started the briefing. She gave us all the basics, all of which I already knew about. I did my best to look interested, but it wasn't one of my specialties. After she was finished, we all filed into the airlock and went out onto Noveria. The first thing I thought about was how fucking cold it was.

"Hot damn, it's freaking cold out here." I said, shaking it off. I never had much of a problem with the cold. I could see Allen and Thomas didn't handle it as well as I did, telling from how both of them had their arms crossed and were visibly shaking. I saw Tali was shivering as well.

"What's wrong, Tali?" I asked.

"I'm wearing an environmental suit, and I'm still freezing." She responded, sounding shaky.

"Would you like to have my coat?" I asked warmly. I heard Allen chuckle, but Tali didn't notice him.

"No, no. You go ahead and have it. I don't need it." She told me, holding her hands in front of herself.

"_Ah, cute old selfless Tali. Always warms my heart._"

I shook my head and said, "I don't need it. You go ahead and have it." I said, handing her my coat.

"Thank you, Sean." She said, sounding surprised. After putting on my coat, I saw she wasn't walking as stiffly anymore.

"Your welcome, Tali." I said as we continued walking. I wasn't sure, but I felt as if Tali was staring at me. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy, so I decided to screw with Allen and Thomas.

"Boy, it sure is cold out here!" I said, giving Allen and Thomas a shit eating grin.

"No shit, Sherlock. I'd rather take a nap next to a Thresher Maw then be out here." Allen said, stuttering and giving me the death look as he said it.

"Can we go inside before my arms off?" Thomas asked very quietly while staring at the ground.

"Don't worry. We'll be inside in just a moment." Shepard told us.

As we neared the checkpoint, Captain Matsuo stopped us.

"That's close enough." Matsuo told the all of us.

"Is there something wrong, officer?" Shepard asked dryly.

"You better hope there isn't." Sterling said.

"_God, I hate that bitch._" I thought silently, remembering her.

"This is an unscheduled arrival. I need your credentials." Captain Matsuo said.

"I'm a Spectre. My name is Shepard." Catherine said plainly.

Stirling scoffed, looked at Matsuo and said,"Load of horse crap, ma'am".

"_God almighty, shut up, bitch!_"

"We will need to confirm that." Matsuo said, dismissing Sterling's comment. "Also, I must advise you that weapons are not permitted on Noveria." She added. "Stirling, secure their weapons."

"_Oh, I don't think so._" I thought, drawing my M-5 Phalanx from my hip, as everyone else drew their weapons.

"It's my rule to keep my guns." I told the Captain in a low tone.

"Back away, nice and slow." Ash told Stirling.

Shepard put down her pistol, and told us, "Let's not start a fight." in a calm tone.

"Aye aye, Commander" Ash responded, still aiming her rifle at the Sergeant.

"Sure. As long as they don't" I said, aiming my pistol at the Captain.

Then, a voice spoke from the intercom. "Captain Matsuo, stand down!"

"_Ah, that must be Gianna_."

"We confirmed their identity. Spectres are authorized to carry weapons here, Captain." She said through the intercom.

The Captain eased up, as her subordinates put away their weapons. "You may proceed, Spectre. I hope the rest of your visit will be less confrontational. Parasini-san will meet you upstairs." She said, sounding relived.

"Behave yourself." Stirling said in a forced tone.

"_That's right. Behave yourself, Sergeant. At least for now._" I thought as I unconsciously glared a the Sergeant. She gave me the death look in response.

"_Ah, my work here is done._" I thought, feeling satisfied.

…

After we left the docking bay, we were met by Gianna Parasini, who greeted Shepard. After being told that Benezia was here, we headed off to the administrator's office. When our elevator finally reached the bottom, Shepard told all of us to gather around.

"Alright, it's going to be awhile until I'll be able to see the Administrator. I'm going to go see him in two hours. All of you have temporary shore leave until then. In two hours, I want all of you meet back in the Hotel Bar. Understood?" All of us nodded in agreement.

"Good. I'll see you all in an hour." Shepard said, heading off to the Administrator's office.

"Well, what should we do? This place doesn't really offer that much in terms of entertainment." Allen said.

"I don't know. Let's look around, see what they have here." I said, looking around the large room.

About a minute later, we all dispersed. Garrus and Wrex went shopping for new equipment, Ash and Kaidan went to the bar, which only left Tali, who was still hanging around with us, not knowing what to do. That was going to be a problem.

"Um, what are you three going to do?" She asked us. "I don't thing my people are very welcomed here. Can I stay with you three? She asked, looking at me.

This is a big problem. We need to find my Uncle, but we can't talk about our inter-dimensional travels while she's around, but I don't want to blow her off, since she seems to like me. This is going to be tricky.

"Hold on, Tali. I need to ask the guys something." I told her, holding my hand up.

"Sure. I'll wait right here." She said in a calm tone.

The three of us found a empty corner and started talking.

"So what are we going to do?" Allen asked.

"I think we should hold off on going to investigate my Uncle. We can always come back later." I said in a quiet tone.

"But Sean! We need to see if your Uncle can help us figure you how we got here! That was supposed to be the whole point of our plan!" Thomas said in a frantic tone.

"I know, but I don't want to blow off Tali. I think she's starting to like me." I said in a hushed tone.

"I fucking knew it! Thomas, you own me 50 credits!" Allen almost yelled at Thomas. Thomas frowned and enter something on his Omni-tool.

"Wait, what the fuck? You two had a bet on whether on not I liked Tali?" I said, angry.

"That's only half on the bet. We have yet to see if I win the second half or not." Allen said with a sly look on his face.

"What's the second half?" I asked.

"We can't tell you. You'll know later." Thomas told me in response.

"You assholes!" I said rather loudly.

"Anyway, back to our dilemma." Allen chimed in. "So what are we going to do?" If we survive Shepard's mission, we could always come back and investigate Sean's Uncle later." Allen said.

"Yeah, but what if something happens to him or us before then? This could be our only chance!" Thomas told us, holding out his hands.

"But I don't want to abandon Tali! Come on, Thomas, give me a chance!" I said, pleading.

Thomas was silent for a long while. About a minute later, he came to a conclusion.

"Alright, fine Sean. I'll let you have your time with Tali, but only if Allen and I can go shopping while you handle with Tali." Thomas told us with a sly look.

"Wait, what?" Allen asked, confused.

"I only agree if Sean goes with Tali alone." Thomas told him, giving Allen a look. I could see Allen start to smile.

"May I ask why?" I said, annoyed.

"No. I told you, that's the only way I will agree." Thomas said flatly.

I let out a loud sigh, and agreed to Thomas's demands. "Fine. See you guys later."

"Good. We'll see you in the bar in two." Thomas said.

As the last word was exchanged, Allen and Thomas walked away, heading in the same direction Garrus and Wrex went. That left me with Tali. I walked back to her, and saw she was a little surprised to only see me walking back.

"Where did Thomas and Allen go, Sean?" Tali asked me.

"Thomas and Allen wanted to go shopping, but I didn't want to. So they left me with you." I told her calmly.

"I see. So what are we going to do for two hours?" Tali asked intently.

"Do you want to go get something to eat? I saw a restaurant on our way in here." I asked her in a warm tone.

She was hesitant for a second, then told me, "Sure, that's sounds like fun."

"Cool. Let's go." I said as we started to walk.

…

When we reached the restaurant, Sean and I were greeted my a kind asari. She led us to a booth, asked us what we wanted, and took our orders. Nice to see I got in, being a quarian and all.

I was amazed. I had never met anyone like Sean. Ever since I had left the Migrant Fleet, everyone had treated her like a second-class citizen, denying her basic jobs and shelter. But Sean, ever since I had met him, all he had done is help her. I couldn't help but find him charming...no, no, Tali, that's selfish. Stop thinking about yourself, it's-

"Tali?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry Sean." I said, snapping out of my daze.

"What was that? You spaced out there for a second." Sean told me.

"I'm sorry. I was thinking about something." I apologized.

"It's alright. I get stuck in thought sometimes too." Sean responded.

"_He is so understanding. He's so selfless. I've never met anyone like him._"

"So, tell me about the Migrant Fleet." Sean asked.

"Oh, um OK. What would you like to know?" I said, surprised to be asked questions about my people.

"You know, the basics. What is life like, your government, all that jazz." Sean told her.

I didn't understand."Jazz?"

"Oh, nothing. Just a human expression. It means the basics." Sean responded.

"Oh! Well, In the Migrant Fleet, we all go on pilgrimage to prove our worth to the Fleet." I started, "We receive training to prepare ourselves for our experience beyond the Fleet. When we find something of value, we present it to a ship captain of our choice in hopes of getting accepted into his or her crew." I told Sean.

"Wow. So it's a...right of passage, am I correct?" Sean asked.

"Yes. A ship captain doesn't want people on their crew who would be a burden on them, so we use the Pilgrimage to prove that we would be of use to the fleet, and that we would be a valuable addition to the crew." I added.

"Wow. Have there ever been quarians who have not returned to the fleet?" Sean asked intently, folding his fingers in front of himself.

"Some quarians spend their entire lives searching for a gift to bring back to the fleet. Some seek adventure, some simply never return to the fleet and decide to live out here. Some die. Things happen, you know?" I finished.

"Yeah. I know the krogans have a-" Sean started, but was cut off as our food arrived. Since she couldn't decide what to get, she took on a suggestion from Sean. Tali had ordered a tube of nutrient paste which was suppose to taste like something called "Salisbury Steak". Sean ordered something that looked like white worms, with a green leafy substance next to it.

"What is that?" I asked Sean.

Looking up from his food, Sean said, "What, this? This is Alfredo, basically pasta with a white sauce. I got a salad to go with it." Sean responded, mouth half filled with this...Alfredo."

"I looks positively great!" I said, looking at his food.

"It taste positively great, but still not as good as the stuff back home." Sean said, looking back at his food.

Sean looked up real quickly, asking me, "Speaking of which, how's your food? Did you like the flavor I suggested?" Sean asked, interested.

"Yes, it's really good. I've never had anything this good before!" I said, suddenly realizing how good it actually was.

"Glad to be of help." Sean said, and went back to his food.

About and hour later, Sean and I finished our meals, and we were sitting there, just talking. He had asked her so much about the fleet, pilgrimage, and quarian government, but what surprised her the most were questions about herself. Some she had trouble answering, but she managed to answer most of them. When we payed and left, we started our walk back to the hotel bar.

"Thank you, Sean" I said quietly, but just loud enough that Sean could hear it.

"Your welcome, Tali." Sean replied warmly.

Sean and I kept walking, while my mind raced. Is it really possible? Could I be falling in love with him?

Does he feel the same way?

**Author's Notes: Man, this chapter was a pain in the ass to write, especially the part with Tali's POV. So Tali and Sean now have something going, even if they are still unsure of what to do with it. Poor Uncle is gonna have to wait a little longer, since I really wanted to do more between Tali and Sean. Ah, love. What a complicated thing to write dialogue for. Writer's blocks tend to do things like that to you. This is GIR, signing out.**


	10. Sean VS Stirling

After our meal in the restaurant, Tali and I walked back to the bar where we were supposed to meet Shepard. I had a lovely time, to say the least. When we arrived, we saw Garrus, Wrex, Allen, and Thomas had finished their shopping, and were all sitting in the booth Shepard rented.

"Well, well, well. Look who's back. Paging Dr. Love, repeat, paging Dr. Love." Allen said, pretending to hold a microphone.

"What?" I said, trying not to embarrass myself in front of Tali.

"Oh, nothing." Thomas said with a long smile on his face. "Did you two have fun?"

"Um, yes." We both replied nervously.

"What did you two do during your break?" Allen asked intently with a shit eating grin on his face.

"That's none of your business Allen, so shut your trap." I said with frustration in my voice.

"Come on, Sean. We're going to find out sooner or later, just tell us." Thomas said with reasoning in his voice.

"I'm not going to tell you two anything. Those are not the kinds of questions you ask the likes of me." I said, seeing Tali nod her head in agreement.

"Alright, fine Sean." Allen said, dismissing the conversation. "So how much longer till Catherine is supposed to get back?" He added.

"Um, she's supposed to be back in about 10 minutes. Why?" I said, looking at the time on my Omni-tool and sitting down. Tali sat right next to me.

"The four of us have been waiting for half an hour. This place doesn't have much going for it in terms of entertainment." Allen replied in a sarcastic tone.

"Then just listen to your music." I told him.

"I can't." He shot back.

"What?" I said, confused. "Why not?"

"Well since I lost my ear buds, I can't listen to my music in silence. When I tried to listen to my music, ERCS came up to me and ordered me to shut it off. Said it was "disruptive" to the environment." Allen said with frustration in his voice.

I pretended to looked around the room, looked back at Allen and said, "What atmosphere?"

That got Allen to laugh. "Yeah, I told him the same thing, but he ignored me. Uptight assholes." Allen said, looking at one of the guards.

"How much do you bet we'll end up getting into a firefight with them before the day is out?" I asked.

"I would bet 50 credits." Tali said playfully.

"Your on, Tali." Allen said to Tali in a challenging tone of voice.

"Deal." Tali replied with a the same tone.

...

The rest of the time we spent just sitting in our booth, talking among one another. While we were talking, I noticed Tali had her hand on my lap. I didn't know what to do.

My mind raced. "_Should I hold her hand? Should I ignore it? Aw man, I need to think of something!_"

Then it hit me. I found out earlier that YouTube somehow still existed, and have found a really funny video. I sent Allen and Thomas the video, but they didn't watch it. I took advantage of that.

"Hey, I know something you two can do. I sent you guys a awesome video. You should watch it while you wait." I said in a serious tone.

"Good idea. Where was it from again?" Thomas asked while looking at the extranet on his Omni-tool.

"It was on YouTube." I said.

"Alright." They both said in unison, not seeming surprised by the fact YouTube existed here. I took advantage of this distraction and put mt hand on Tali's hand. She didn't say anything, but I saw her stir in her seat. I turned and smiled at her. I'm guessing she smiled back.

Our moment ended abruptly when someone stormed into the bar with a pissed off look on her face. It was Shepard. I'm guessing she didn't have much luck getting a garage pass.

"I see your meeting with the Administrator went well." I said with sarcasm in my voice.

"I spent two hours waiting to see the bastard, only to get blown off as soon as I entered. Asshole!" Shepard yelled under her breath at nobody in general, crashing into a seat.

"Well, then how are we going to get to Peak 15?" Allen asked.

"I could help." I heard from the other side of the bar.

"How could you help?" Shepard asked in an annoyed tone.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lorik Qui'in. I'm in charge of the Synthetic Insights offices, or at least I was." Lorik told us with disgust in his voice.

"How can you help us?" Shepard asked, interested.

"See, I found evidence proving our dear administrator is corrupt, but he got wind of this and instead accused me of being corrupt. So now, he has hired ERCS guards to raid my office in an attempt to find the evidence. If you can get me back my evidence, I will give you my garage pass." Lorik told Shepard.

"So you just want us to find this evidence and bring it back to you? What about the ERCS? They aren't just going to let us waltz in and take the evidence." Garrus stated.

"No they aren't, but they shouldn't be accepted bribes, ether." Lorik said with no remorse.

"Well Shepard, unless you want to spend more time trying a better way, I suggest we go find the evidence." I said reasonably.

Shepard thought about it for a while, and then asked Lorik, "What will you do with this evidence when you have it?"

"I will use it to have him removed from his position, of course. Don't worry, it'll be put to good use." Lorik reassured.

"Alright, fine." Shepard finally agreed. "Where can we find this evidence?"

"It's on my personal computer. Here take this OSD. Put it into my computer and it will download the evidence." Lorik said, handing Shepard the OSD.

Shepard signaled all of us. We got up and headed to the elevator.

"We'll be back soon." Shepard told Lorik as the elevator doors closed.

…

When we reached the elevator that went up to Synthetic Insights, Shepard unlocked it and we piled in. At the top, we were "greeted" by two ERCS guards posted to watch the door. Shepard worked her charm and convinced them to leave. The other guards would have to be persuaded to leave by more...violent means.

As the two guards we had met left, the other ERCS guards started taking up positions in an attempt to box us in. All of us broke off into little "teams", and engaged the rent-a-cops.

Moving from my cover, Tali covered me as we moved up. Two ERCS guards attempted to flank me, but were picked off by Wrex before they could reach me.

I took out my M-76 Revenant and killed two guards who were seeking cover behind a couch. They didn't stand a chance since couches aren't very good cover.

I saw Kaidan use a biotic throw on one turian, slamming him into a wall with a stomach turning "crunch".

Shepard was fighting like it was nothing, breezing through the ERCS guards like a hot knife through butter.

Thomas was covering us with his M-29 Incisor, drilling a hole into the skull of one human.

Allen was charging ahead with both his M-6 Carnifex Hand Cannons, mowing down three unlucky ERCS guards who were caught out in the open.

Everyone else was going an incredible job, clearing out the guards with ease. We reached Lorik's office less than two minutes later. When the evidence was finished downloading, we went to leave the office, we saw Sergeant Bitch was waiting with some more of her rent-a-cops flanking her.

I felt adventurous today, so I decided to do something really stupid.

"I'll take the Sergeant, guys." I said to everyone.

"What? Why?" Shepard asked, surprised.

"I can't stand her and her bitchy attitude. I wanna be the one to take her down." I said with determination in my voice.

"Oh, Keelah, I hope you know what your doing..." Tali said, face palming her helmet.

"Oh, I'll be fine." I reassured, patting her on the shoulder.

"Alright, she's yours, Sean. Don't hurt yourself." Shepard said, crossing her arms.

"Thanks." I said, as we stared walking again.

When we reached Sergeant Bitch and her cronies, she gave us the "You know what we do to cop killers on my planet?" bullshit, and Wrex shot back with the "You know what we do to dirty cops on our planet?" statement. Awesome.

When I saw her guards draw their weapons, I charged forward be fore her biotics could flare up, and tackled her to the ground. She punched me in the stomach, but I didn't really feel anything through the armor. She tried to land a blow on my head, but I dodged it, grabbed her arm, and twisted it backwards. She managed to hit me in the groin with her knee, stunning me for a brief moment, allowing her to land one good blow on my chin.

That really set me off. I yanked the knife out of my sheath and slashed at her. Her cheap armor was even worse at protecting her than it looked, considering I cut right through it, leaving a large gash on her side. She tried to grab my knife, but I took another swing, leaving a large cut on her face. She was pissed.

She attempted to high kick me, but I grabbed her foot in midair and pulled her off balance, bringing her to the floor once more.

She tried once more to charge her biotics, but before she could finish, I jumped on top of her, embedding my knife in her chest. She got a surprised look on her face, and stopped charging. She gave me one more nasty look before she let out a loud sigh and her head hit the floor. After retrieving my knife, I reinserted into my sheath, and looked at the others. They looked stunned, even Allen and Thomas didn't say anything about our fight.

"Sean, that was some of the most impressive hand-to-hand fighting I have ever seen." Garrus said, breaking the silence.

"You think so, huh? Thanks." I said, not noticing the fact that the process, the other had killed all the other guards.

"That was a incredible take-down, Sean." Ash quipped.

"Thanks." I replied sheepishly. "I vote we leave before more ERCS guards arrive." I said loudly to break everyone out of their trance.

"Oh, right." Shepard said, directing all of us to the elevator.

I had yet to notice I had blood splattered all over my armor.

"Yikes, I'll have to clean that off later." I said loudly. Everyone in the elevator let out a collective chuckle, even Wrex.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Kaidan said. "You look like and axe murderer."

"Yeah, I'm not going on shore leave looking like this." I said to myself. "I could be arrested if I were to approach a child looking like this."

"Hey, at least your not covered with slime or nuclear waste." Allen said, knowing I obviously referenced Freeman's Mind.

"Oh, by the way, Allen. There's something I need to tell you." Tali said bluntly.

"What's that?" He asked.

"I win the bet." Tali replied simply.

"Dammit." Allen said, remembering their deal.

_**Author's Notes: Ah, long chapter is long. Combat writing is boring. I don't thing I'm very good when it comes to writing battle scenes, do I'll try to be a descriptive as possible. A little thing between Tali ans Sean at the beginning there. Ironically, I found it easier to write things between Tali and Sean than it was to write battle scenes. As always, please review, fav, and subscribe to my story. This is GIR, signing out.**_


	11. Acceptance

When the elevator finally reached the bottom, we were greeted by none other than Gianna Parasini. She asked us about the noises reported being heard from the Synthetic Insights offices and all that jazz. She asked us to meet with her before presenting the evidence against Anoleis to Lorik.

After being informed by Gianna that she was a Internal Affairs agent, we managed to convince Lorik to testify. We met back with Gianna, and she was very happy. She gave Catherine a garage pass, and we all had the pleasure of watching Anoleis bitch and moan about being arrested.

"You, Shepard! I demand you place this bitch under arrest!" Anoleis yelled as Gianna slapped handcuffs on him.

"Nope. If you didn't want this to happen, you should have answered my questions instead of blowing me off." Shepard replied with a grin.

"Screw you, Shepard! I will have you tried for this!" Anoleis yelled.

"You have the right to remain silent. I wish to god you would exercise it." Gianna said, pushing Anoleis out the door.

...

Afterwards, we all made hast to the garage to finally go to Peak 15. When we reached the door and had the pass confirmed, we walking into the garage. It was hard not to to grab my weapon, but I couldn't tip off the others without drawing suspicion to myself.

Luckily, that didn't last long. I saw a Geth Hopper jump on the ceiling. I drew my Phalanx and plugged two fist sized holes into it before it could launch a tech mine at Shepard. Now even a second after I shot the hopper, two more Hoppers appeared along with a dozen regular Geth, including a Juggernaut.

I jumped behind a crate, using my Omni-tool to overload a Geth hopper clamped to the ceiling, causing it to fall on the floor with a "smash". Good thing Tali showed me earlier how to use that.

I took pot shots at the other hopper, missing by mere centimeters. It jumped to a new position, and shot me with a painful beam of energy that took down my shields.

"Ow! You son of a bitch!" I yelled, taking aim at the hopper, only to find my gun was jammed.

"_Dammit, that must have been their overload attack._"

"I need some help! They jammed me!" I yelled. Tali and Wrex turned and fired at the hopper, reducing it to scrap.

I yelled "Thanks!" as I tried to reactivate my pistol. It was still jammed.

"Come on, you piece of shit!" I yelled at the stupid thing, when I heard Tali shout "Look out, Sean!". I turned around to see the Geth Juggernaut hovering over me.

"Holy shit!" I yelled, rolling out of the way before the Geth unloaded on my previous position with it's cannon. I cursed at my stupid pistol, still jammed, and tossed it aside. The others were still focused on the the other Geth. I was going to have to take this thing on bare-handed. Fuck me...

I gave my best battle cry, and tackled the Juggernaut. I fell against it's legs, knocking it down. I regained my balance and jumped onto it's back before it could get up, drawing my knife and cutting a couple of the hoses on it's back. I'm guessing I cut something important, because it started spraying white fluid everywhere when I cut one of the hoses connected to it's head.

The Juggernaut let out a loud electronic screech, and threw me off it's backside. I landed about seven feet away from the Juggernaut, losing my knife in it's backside. It got back on it's feet and took aim at me with it's cannon, but collapsed after it stopped spewing it's white liquid.

"Dammit, why am I the only one to gets into these kinds of fights? I don't fancy myself a hand-to-hand specialist!" I asked myself out loud. I looked around and saw the rest of the team had finished off the remaining Geth.

"Sean! Are you OK?" Tali yelled, running over to me,

"Yeah, I'm just peachy." I replied, getting up. Boy, I hit by back harder than I thought I did. That's really going to hurt later.

"I've have never seen anyone kill a Geth with their bare hands before. Nice job." Shepard said walking over, inspecting my handiwork.

"It wasn't easy. I really had to work at it." I said, putting emphasis on the word "really" as I yanked my knife out of the Juggernaut's back.

"I'm so sorry we couldn't help you. There were just too many Geth to turn away!" Tali stammered.

"Oh, don't beat yourself up over it. We're all fine, and that's all that matters." I replied, patting her shoulder.

At that point, Matsuo ran into the garage, having no idea what happened. Shepard carefully explained that Benezia had brought Geth with her. After explaining that, Matsuo allowed us to travel to Peak 15, while she ran off to the Board to prevent an investor panic.

"Everyone pile in. I'm driving. Allen, you be my gunner." Shepard said in quick succession.

"_Oh shit. I forgot about the Mako sections. Please don't let Shepard be as bad as a driver as I was._" I thought silently to myself as I stepped into the Mako.

I was pleased to see it was slightly bigger than it was in the game, so we all managed to fit in nice and snugly. Wrex, Garrus, Kaidan, and Thomas sat across from me. Tali and Ash sat on my side, while Shepard manned the controls, Allen assumed his position at the cannon controls.

"Hope you know what your doing, Allen." I said as he climbed into the turret.

"Oh, don't worry. It's like riding a bicycle. You never forget." Allen replied slyly.

"But you have never used this before." Thomas responded.

"Shut up." Allen said in an angry tone of voice. "It's just two triggers and a swivel turret. Really simple." Allen said as metal clamps secured his feet to the ground. Allen looked at them with surprise.

"Good luck with that, Allen." I added as Shepard started up the Mako. We pulled out of the garage into the blizzard. About a minute into the bouncy trip, I started hearing pinging sounds coming from outside. I'm guessing the shields were being hit. Shortly afterwards, Allen started firing the cannon.

"Dammit, Shepard! Will you please try not to hit every single bump on the path? It makes it kind of hard to aim!" Allen yelled from the turret.

"I can barely see where I'm going! Just do your best for now!" Shepard replied from the cockpit.

"Having fun up there, Allen?" I asked with sarcasm in my voice.

"Screw you, Sean!" He yelled, firing at another Armature.

"Sorry for asking." I replied.

"Listen Sean. I don't have time for your bullshit, so unless you have something useful to say, shut up!" He yelled, blasting a few more Geth.

"Alright, I'm sorry." I said dryly.

"Thank you!" He yelled as we continued on our journey.

We arrived a Peak 15 about half and hour later. When we got out, Allen looked shaken.

"What's the matter, Allen?" I asked.

"I can't feel my hands." He said.

"Oh, big deal. I can't feel my ass." Thomas responded from afar.

"Shut up." Allen replied under his breath.

"Come on." I said, patting his shoulder. "You'll get the feeling in your hands back once we start shooting some Geth."

"That's what I've been doing for the last half an hour." He said dryly.

"Never mind." I said simply, then walked away.

Once inside, we were attacked by more Geth. The battle didn't last long, and the plus was that I didn't have to fight anything with a knife this time. We had a little trouble taking down the krogan, but they still didn't last long under our combined fire. Once we walked past the security checkpoint, we walked into a large room. I heard something, but the others didn't seem to hear it.

"Did you guys hear that?" I asked.

"You heard that too?" Ash said.

"Yeah. It sounded like it was coming from the vents." I replied. Right after I said that, there was a series of louder banging noises that sounded like they were coming from everywhere.

"What was that?" Tali asked out loud.

"Don't worry. I'll protect you." Wrex told her.

At that moment, a creature burst out of one of the vents.

"I'm guessing that's what Rachni look like. There even more ugly in real life."

"What the hell is that?" Ash asked out loud.

"That can't be right. We killed them." Wrex said to themselves.

"What? What do you mean?" Shepard asked.

Wrex didn't answer her. Instead, he charged the Rachni, blowing it away with his shotgun. At once, all the vents in the room burst open, and Rachni started pouring into the room.

"Holy shit!" I yelled, shooting by Revenant at two approaching Rachni as everyone else in the room drew their weapons and fired on the advancing hoard. One of them got close enough to spit acid on me. I yelled loudly as it's acid started burning away at my armor.

"Sean! Get down!" Tali yelled, pushing me to the ground. I dropped my Revenant, and shot at them with my pistol instead.

"Dammit, what the fuck is this stuff?" I screamed as the acid boiled away at my armor.

"It's acid! Get that chest plate off before it reaches your skin!" Wrex yelled at me as he shot another Rachni. I ripped off my chest plate before the acid reached my chest, and the pain slowly went down. I looked at my chest to see it had become blood red. Dammit...

About a minute later, the Rachni stopped attacking. Tali ran over to see that I was OK.

"Oh Keelah. Sean, are you alright?" Tali asked me, worried.

"I feel like someone dumped boiling water on my chest." I told her, grunting.

"Tali, take Sean back to the Mako. Stay with him while we find out what the hell happened here." Shepard told her.

"Sure thing, Shepard." Tali replied.

Once Shepard and the other were gone, Tali gave me some medi-gel, and helped me up onto my feet. The trip back to the garage door was uneventful. I'm guessing this section of Peak 15 was connected to a different vent system.

"Here, Sean." Tali said, giving me my coat as we reached the garage door. "You don't want to go into sub-zero temperatures without something covering your chest.

"Yeah, your right." I said, chuckling as I zipped up my coat. "Thanks."

When the door opened, we ran like hell back to the Mako, jumping inside.

"Man, doesn't this stink? We ride up here in this thing for half an hour, only to be thrown back in." I asked slyly.

"It does seem a bit redundant. But, at least we don't need to fight those...things. Whatever they were..." Tali replied in a shaken tone.

"Yeah. It would almost be worth it if my chest didn't look like a krogan's face." I responded, looking at my burned chest once more.

At this, Tali laughed. "Keelah, that looks painful. Are you sure your alright?" She asked once more.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. When we get back, Chakwas will fix me up." I said, looking at the ceiling and closing my eyes.

I thought a good long time about my time here. The people I had met. I still had trouble believing all of this was happening. Then, all my thoughts shifted to Tali. Of all the people he had met here, she had been the one he enjoyed being around the most.

He...loved her.

I still have a very vague idea of what love was supposed to feel like. I had never been in a real relationship before, and still wasn't sure if he was really in one. Now that he thought about it, his school life was complete hell compared to this stuff. I would rather have acid dumped on my chest then have to deal with all of that again. I banished the memories from my mind. They would only harm me.

It was at that moment, I felt something wrap around me. It surprised me, but in a comforting way. I opened my eyes to see Tali hugging me. I sat there, looking at her, then I returned the gesture. We both sat there, hugging for what felt like a hour. It was in that moment, I knew the only reason why I wanted to stay here.

I didn't want this moment to end.

Author's Notes: Yeah, I always hated Peak 15, so I cut myself off the mission. A little stupid, but hey. Besides, there will be flashbacks to Peak 15 through the eyes of Shepard. The plus: more time with Tali. So now both Tali and Sean have accepted each other. Hopefully, it will last. Please review and fav my story, it helps me more than you would know. This is GIR, signing out.


	12. Part Of Something Bigger And GTA

It had been three hours since Catherine Shepard and the others had entered Peak 15. There had been some close calls here and there, but the team had been careful not to get any acid on themselves like Sean did. She had gotten the tram fixed and gotten everyone to the research labs, and found the cure for the doctor's patients in the med lab. She and her team were ambushed by one of Saren's agents, but we took her down with relative ease.

Once we got into the labs using the maintenance passage, we fought Benezia, who gave us the coordinates to the Mu Relay. Shepard had also released the Rachni Queen, at much protest from Wrex, who wanted to kill it. We later left and returned to the surface to see the sun was out and that the storm was over. We opened the Mako to see Tali and Sean sleeping soundly next to each other.

"_Aw, how cute_." Shepard thought to herself.

Allen wasted no time in spoiling the moment. "Hey, sleeping beauty. Wake up." Allen said, tapping Sean's head.

Sean and Tali jumped, and quickly adjusted. "Oh. Hey guys." Tali said. "Nice to see you all made it out in once piece." Sean quipped.

"Nice to see you two are having some quality time together." Garrus said, clicking his mandibles together.

"Shut up, split-lip." He said, pissed. "Besides, You guys were in there for so many hours, I lost track."

"We were in there for eight hours." Thomas replied bluntly.

"Eight hours? Damn. What did we miss?" Sean asked, surprised.

"I'll explain it to you two later. Right now, I just want to go back to the Normandy." I said, climbing into the Mako.

"You and me both, Shepard. Hopefully, the next place we visit won't have acid-spitting creatures and Asari Commandos in it." Allen added.

And with that, everyone piled into the Mako, and we all started our trip back to Port Hanshan.

…

Sean looked at everyone. Everyone looked battered, not including things such as marks in their armor from Rachni blood. Allen was missing half of the armor on his right arm, and Thomas had a small gash on his forehead covered in Medi-Gel. Wrex was cover in small amounts of Rachni blood, making his armor look like it had been shot with a really powerful BB gun several times. Ash's boots were half melted, and Kaidan's gloves were missing. Garrus was missing a chunk of his collar, and the barrel of his pistol was melted. Shepard was the least damaged. She was only missing one of her knee pads and her shotgun.

"_Whew, they look like they've been through hell._"

"So Sean, how are you feeling?" Garrus asked him.

"Oh, I'm fine. Just a little sore, that's all." I responded, looking up. "I'm gonna have to buy some new armor the next time we go to the Citadel." I added.

"Yeah, we had some really close calls in there. We all need some new armor." Kaidan said, looking at his hands.

"How did you lose your gloves?" Tali asked.

"I was using my shotgun, when one of those things spit it's acid at me. I blocked it with my shotgun before it hit me, melting the thing and getting acid all over them." He said, feeling his hands.

"Wow, that must have been pai..." I was cut off as I got a sharp pain in my chest, causing me to double over.

"Sean, SEAN! Are you alright?" Was the last thing I heard before passing out.

…

Shepard was pacing outside of the Medical Bay, worried about Sean. He has been unconscious for two days now, and it was starting to get to her. She still had no idea what happened in the Mako, and hoped he was OK. From what the others told her, Sean got a pained expression on his face and doubled over, passing out shortly later.

The door hissed open, and Chakwas walked out.

"What's his condition, doctor?" Shepard asked in a hushed tone.

"It appears that he suffered some form of lung failure. It's nothing too life-threatening, but he lost some of the oxygen to his brain, causing him to pass out. The odd thing is that we can't figure out how this happened. The heat from the acid didn't harm him internally, just burned his skin. I have no idea what caused this to happen to him, Shepard." Chakwas told her.

"Do you know if he's going to wake up?" Shepard asked in a hushed tone, seeing Allen and Thomas heading towards the CIC.

"He's going to wake up, we just need to give him time to rest." Chakwas said confidently.

"Can I see him?" He asked, looking at the door.

"Sure, just be quiet." Chakwas said, opening the door.

Inside, Sean was out on one of the beds, with Tali laying her head on his chest, sleeping.

"_They would make a great couple._" Shepard thought to herself.

Shepard sat on one of the chairs, watching the two for a while. She got up to leave, when she saw something she was not expecting.

Sean stirred.

…

Being unconscious is like being in a pitch black room with no doors, no lights, and no way out. I could have stayed in that place forever, but then the dreams began.

I was floating above Earth, seeing the beautiful vista. All of the Earth, clean and wealthy. The peaceful moment was destroyed when large explosions could suddenly be seen all over the planet, turning the sky dark red and blackening the surface. I watched, horrified and unable to go anything to stop it. It was then I turned around to see a Reaper heading right for me, when it disappeared.

I was floating in the darkness, unable to see anything. I was then I started seeing images of my life flash before my eyes. Mom, Dad, my family and friends, everything flashed at light speed. Then, I started seeing the worst experiences I had ever had in my life. Standing over Uncle's coffin, getting bullied in school, every single cut, scrape, bruise, and gouge I had received since birth flashed onto my body. I let out a cry of pain, unable to take it. Then, it suddenly stopped.

I was in a large white room. Nothing was in it except one lone figure. It looked tall and slender, giving it a majestic look.

"Who are you!" I yelled. "Where am I!"

"We are the Protheans, Sean. We have brought you here to help in the fight against the Reapers." The figure told me.

"What? Why? That's a video game, not real life!" I yelled at the figure.

"You don't understand. I'll have to show you." He said,walking over and putting his hand on my head. I tried to move, but I couldn't move once his hand was on my head.

Then, a burst of images rolled into my head. I was shown the rise and fall of the Protheans, the Conduit, the Citadel, some things I could not understand, and finally, Earth.

I fell to the ground, gasping for air like a fish out of water. My vision started to get blurry once more.

"This is all we can give you for now. Soon, you will understand these visions and your purpose will be explained to both you and your friends. Sleep well, Sean, and good luck against the Reapers." The Prothean told me before I blacked out.

...

"...Doctor...doctor, I think he's waking up!" I heard a voice yell.

I started to move, feeling something holding my hand. I turned to see Tali, who I could swear was smiling behind her mask.

"...Oh, hello Tali." I said weakly, squeezing her hand back.

"Oh Sean, I thought you were never going to wake up!" She said, leaping onto me and giving me a hug.

"Ow, that hurts, Tali..." I said, squirming.

"Oh! I'm sorry, Sean!" She said, quickly letting go of me.

"It's fine. You were worried about me." I said, banishing the pain on my chest from my thoughts.

Then, Shepard barges into the room with Chakwas, holding medical gear.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, easy guys! I think I'm alright now!" I yelled, holding my hands up. I got up, feeling the burn on my chest scream as I did it. Oddly enough, it didn't hurt that much.

"Sean, what happened back there? You just passes out during the Mako ride!" Shepard said, looking worried.

"I'm not sure. I just doubled over in pain and passed out. I don't remember what happened after that." I said truthfully. I didn't want Shepard to think I was some kind of crazy person, so I held back on telling her about my dream.

"Are you sure you feel alright? That surprised everyone something terrible down there." Shepard asked , putting her hand on my shoulder.

"I feel fine, Catherine. Actually, I feel a lot better." I said, making a fist, feeling stronger.

"Chakwas, I want you to run some blood test. Make sure there's nothing is in his blood." Shepard said in quick succession, and left the room.

"OK, Sean. Let me take a sample and you'll be on your way. I don't see the point of keeping you here if there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with you." Chakwas said.

"Alright." I said as Chakwas inserted a needle into my arm, drew some blood, and slapped on a bandage.

"Your good to go."

"Thanks, doc." I said, leaving the Med Bay with Tali tailing me.

"I'll see you later, Sean. Adams and the other are missing me. See ya!" Tali said, skipping away.

"Bye!" I yelled as the elevator door closed.

…

About eight days after the Noveria mission, Garrus, Thomas, Allen and I were sitting in our quarters, playing Grim Terminus Alliance multiplayer. I had told Allen and Thomas , who were ecstatic to see me up and running, about my dream. They didn't believe me, but I knew they would understand sooner or later.

"Dammit Allen, drive this thing faster!" I yelled as an enemy player closed in on our little speeder with a gunship.

"I'm driving this thing as fast as I can!" We yelled, narrowly avoiding another building as we tried to lose this guy.

"I'm out of thermal clips!" Garrus said, ducking back into the speeder.

"Thomas, do you have any rounds left in that rocket launcher?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I have two left, but I can't aim at these speeds." He said out of frustration.

I gave up as the Gunship closed in on us and blew the four of us to smithereens.

"Dammit! That's the third fucking time we've been spawn killed by this "SuPaL33tKiLLa" guy." I said, letting out a loud sigh.

I was about to give up, when I thought of something.

"OK, I have an idea. Garrus, grab that sniper rifle on the upper level. Thomas, you make a run for the rockets and try to get him into the open while we cover you. Garrus, when he reappears and charges his main gun, blow his brains out through the cockpit window. Everyone agree?" I said, reviving a row of nods.

"Good. Let's kill this bastard."

Garrus climbed up the building as we hunkered down and waited for him to get to the top. After he found the sniper rifle, he sent us a message. That was our signal. Thomas ran like hell to the rockets, when the gunship came back, spraying bullets all over the field. Thomas make it behind some cover with the rockets.

The driver stopped for a moment to let his main cannon cool down, when the cockpit suddenly looked like a red paint balloon had exploded inside of it. Garrus was even a good shot in video games. As his gunship crashed, the guy started screaming into the microphone at the top of his lungs and calling us hacker. All three of us started laughing our asses off.

"Uh guys, sorry to ruin you fun, Shepard wants to see everyone in the Briefing room. We have a big Saren job to deal with." Joker said with a dry tone in his voice, making our victory short-lived.

"Alright, we'll be there I a minute." I said, putting down the controller and shutting off the TV.

"_Let's see what we're doing next._"

**Author's Notes: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, guys. I've been bogged down with so much school work, I haven't had ,much time to work on it. Hope you guys liked it. Please review and favor my story. This is GIR, signing out. PS check out my other new story, Quake 4: The Failed Transfers. It's violent and bloody, what every person loves about id games.**


	13. Therum

**Author's Notes: I finally realized how stupid I was for not saying what we looked like. I added a quick description of what the three of us look like in Chapter 1. Nothing like how we really look of course, but for the purpose of this story, they will be there. Now, to the story.**

"Here's the plan, people. Joker is going to drop us in, and we will proceed the rest of the way to the dig site with the Mako, and find Dr, T'Soni." Shepard tells us in the briefing room.

For the last few minutes, Shepard has been going over the briefing for the mission to find Liara T'Soni. Once again, I knew what was going to happen but I tried to pay attention. Tali sat next to me during the briefing, and gave me a few glances during it. I returned them with a smile.

"Everyone got it?" Shepard asked. We all nodded our heads.

"Good. Suit up, and be ready. Sean, I want you to stay here for a minute." She told us, pointing to me.

"Shepard?" I asked, giving her a raised eyebrow.

"It will only be for a minute." Shepard said reassuringly.

When everyone left, Shepard locked the door to the briefing room, and told me to sit down.

"What's wrong, Shepard?" I asked, getting nervous.

"I just got back blood test results from Chakwas. Would you like to explain to me why there is Element Zero in you bloodstream?" Shepard asked, crossing her arms.

"There is WHAT in my bloodstream?" I asked her, surprised.

"After Chakwas ran scans on your blood, she found a high concentration of Element Zero in your bloodstream. Why didn't you tell me you are a biotic, and a damn strong one at that!" Shepard yelled.

"What do you mean I have Element Zero in my bloodstream? I've never been exposed to Eezo in my entire life, and I can't even use biotics!" I yelled, getting frustrated.

"You didn't know? How could you not know? You are practically raging with Eezo!" Shepard said, getting a confused look on her face.

"Shepard I swear, I have no idea why Eezo is in my blood. I had no idea! If I knew, I would tell you. I swear." I said, trying to calm her down.

Shepard sighed. "Sean, you are absolutely sure you have no idea?" She asked me, closing her eyes,

"Yes. I have no idea." I said honestly.

"You better be telling the truth, Sean. If you aren't, there are going to be some big problems between us." Shepard said, looking me in the eye.

"Yes ma'am." I said as Shepard the door.

"I've known you long enough to know when your telling me the truth. Go get suited up." Shepard said, unlocking the door.

"Thanks, Catherine."

I left the briefing room to go to my quarters, my mind racing.

"_What the hell, what the hell, what the hell...why the fuck is there Eezo in my blood? Can I use biotics_?"

After what happened on Peak 15, Shepard gave me a set of heavy Onyx armor to replace the set that was melted. Turns out, Shepard ordered a set from C-Sec, but got a male set by mistake. There wasn't enough time to reorder it, so she kept it and gave it to me.

When I arrived at the quarters, I saw Allen and Thomas were halfway through putting their armor on. Allen had decided to tear off the armor on his other arm. He told me he liked it better that way.

Thomas build himself a visor similar to Garrus's visor, able to hook into is Incisor and highlight allies. He colored in green, and the smug bastard also put a speaker into it to play music.

"So, what did Shepard want to talk to you about? I was worried about you." Allen said in a sarcastic tone.

"You were worried about me? I thought gingers didn't have souls." I said bluntly back.

"Fuck you!" Allen yelled.

Thomas started laughing his ass off. "It's been a long time since I heard that!" Thomas said, still laughing.

"Sorry, Allen. I'll tell you after the mission." I told him.

"Fine. You better start putting your armor on before we drop. That thing looks hard to put on." Allen said, eying up my heavy armor sitting in the corner.

I sat down, and began putting my armor on. I surprised Allen and Thomas by putting my armor on before they finished putting their own on.

"Alright, I'll meet you two in the hanger. Don't wait up." I said, grabbing my weapons and heading towards the elevator.

When the elevator doors closed, I suddenly had another painful flash in my head. Several images coursed through my head at light speed, bringing pain with each one. When it stopped, I felt a strange sensation in my hands, as if they had fallen asleep ans the feeling was coming back to them. I ignored it when the elevator reached the bottom.

Everyone was there except for Allen and Thomas, so I walked over. Shepard was busy talking to Ash and Kaidan, Garrus and Wrex were bickering with one another, and Tali was just sitting in the Mako, doing something on her Omni-tool. I hopped into the Mako after exchanging glances with Shepard, and sat next to Tali.

"Hey Tali, what's up?" I asked, scooting next to her.

"Oh, hi Sean. I was just working on the Mako's shields. You doing well?" She asked me in a cheerful tone.

"Yeah, I've been feeling much better as of late. Thanks for asking." I said, checking my shoulder plate for the second time.

"What do you think we'll find down there?" She asked me, tilting her head towards me.

"Tell you the truth? I think there will be Geth. Just something in my gut keeps telling me that." I said to her, frowning.

"Really? I wasn't expecting that much trouble. What makes you think there will be Geth down there?" She asked, curious.

"Just a gut feeling. This doesn't feel like a simple retrieval mission to me." I said, taking out my pistol and looking at the markings on it.

"Sean, about what happened in the Mako..." Tali started, but I held up my hand to stop her.

"Tali, your not being selfish in liking me. I like you too, but this might not be the best time to talk about it." I said in a low tone. "Tali, I feel the same way. Don't worry."

"It's just that...nevermind." Tali started, but cut herself off.

"We can talk about it later but for now, lets be professional. We have a job to do." I said, putting my pistol back on my hip.

It was then Thomas and Allen arrived, and everyone else stepped into the Mako. Shepard told me to get on the cannon this time.

"Alright, let's see...left trigger fires the machine gun...right trigger fires the cannon...where's the button for a witty remark from Allen?" I said out loud.

"Very funny, Sean." I heard Allen say from the back of the Mako.

"That was the one." I said to myself. I heard Tali laugh.

Shepard started the Mako, and metal clamps secured my feet to the floor.

"_This should be interesting._" I thought to myself.

The bay doors opened, and I felt my stomach lurch into my chest as the Mako zoomed to the surface of Therum. After thirty seconds of falling, we hit the surface, coming to a grinding halt on the blackened surface of the planet.

"Commander, I'm picking up some strange readings, like, off the damn charts. The dig site is about two clicks away from your current position." Joker said over the radio.

"Thanks for the heads up, Joker." Shepard replied.

And with that, we began our journey to Liara's dig site.

…

"Shepard, can you try to AVOID some of the bumps! Your driving isn't helping my aim!" I yelled, having to adjust my aim on a Geth Armature once more.

"The path isn't exactly paved, Sean! Do your best for now!" Shepard yelled back.

I groaned loudly, finally taking down the Armature.

"You having fun up there, Sean?" I heard Allen say from the back of the Mako.

"Allen, shut your goddamn mouth!" I yelled out of anger, having to adjust my aim as Shepard hit another pothole. I could hear Garrus and Ash laughing.

"Shepard, how much farther till' we get to the dig site?" I said, blasting another group of Geth.

"Less than half a mile. Just a little farther, Sean." Shepard said, blasting the jets on the Mako. I felt my stomach lurch again.

"We better get there soon. This thing is driving me crazy." I responded, rocks up ahead blocking the path.

Shepard drove up to the rocks stopping.

"Well everyone, it looks like we're walking the rest of the way." She said, leaving the controls.

"_Finally_."

We all climbed you of the Mako into the hot surface of Therum. Once everyone was out, we walked through the gap in the rocks and went up the path. We encountered more Geth, but they dropped faster than you could say "dead".

After dealing with the Geth in the area, we reached the open area. I saw Shepard observing the area, and even she knew something was up.

"Garrus, Thomas, climb there and provide sniper support for us in case there are more Geth in the area. Tali, Ash, Sean, go and cover our right flank, everyone else with me." She said in quick succession.

We walking into the open area after Garrus and Thomas finished setting up. Almost as if on command, a Geth dropship swooped in and dropped off several Geth and an Armature. That was going to be a problem.

"Snipers, pick off the little Geth. Everyone else, take out the Armature!" Shepard yelled in the comm.

We all fired on the Armature, rounds bouncing off it's shields as Garrus and Thomas picked off the others with ease from their vantage point.

"Rounds just bounce right off it!" Ash yelled, blasting it with her Avenger.

We all kept firing on it, having no affect, when I got an idea.

"Tali, I have an idea. On my go, we both fire overloads at it to disable it for a moment so I can get to it." I yelled over the din of the gunfire.

"So you can do WHAT?" She yelled, eyes visibly widening.

"On my go, three, two..." I said, ignoring her. She is going to be so pissed later...

"Sean!" Tali yelled, worried.

"One!" I yelled, firing an overload at the Armature. Tali didn't really have a say in it, so she popped out of cover and fired her overload at it too. When they both connected, the Armature stopped moving and sputtered a few sparks.

"GO!" I yelled to myself, running out of cover towards the Armature

"Oh Keelah! Sean!" Tali yelled into the comm.

"Sean, what the hell are you doing?" Shepard yelled too.

I jumped onto the back of the Armature as it's systems reactivated. I took my knife and started cutting the wires on it's back. It tried to shake me off, but I kept a death grip on it's armor. I must have finally cut something vital, because the shields flickered and failed on it.

"Unload on it! NOW!" I yelled into the comm, jumping off the Armature, grabbing a Geth rocket launcher from one of the Geth corpses, and jumping behind a cluster of rocks. The others unloaded on the Armature, turning the front of it into Swiss cheese. Despite all the gunfire it took, the thing was still working, so I took the rocket launcher and fired two missiles into it's backside, blowing off one of it's legs and causing it to collapse, erupting into a fiery explosion.

I sat there for a moment, breathing heavily, and then started laughing to myself.

"_Jesus Christ, I'm insane._"

I heard someone running over to me. I turned around to see Shepard standing over me, not looking very happy. She grabbed me by the collar of my armor and yanked me off the ground.

"Sean, what the hell were you thinking? You could have gotten yourself killed!" Shepard yelled, sounding more upset than angry.

"I'm sorry. There was no time to think. I just acted." I said, looking at the ground in shame.

"Don't you ever do anything like that again! Ever!" She yelled as everyone else catches up.

"I'm sorry, Shepard. It will never happen again." I said, eyes closed.

Shepard didn't say anything. She let go of my collar and I fell back down.

"You had me worried, Sean. Please don't do that again." Shepard said in a calmed tone, looking away.

"Yes ma'am." I said.

"Good. Let's get into that dig and find the doctor." Shepard said, offering be her hand. I accepted it and she hoisted me up onto my feet.

I looked around to see Wrex and Allen watching the Armature wreck. Kaidan and Ash were waiting, Garrus and Thomas were still just getting back, and Shepard was still right there. Where's Tali...

I recoiled when I felt a three-fingered hand slap me across the face. I turned around to see Tali staring at me, "Sean, what were you thinking? You could have been killed!"

"Tali, I'm sorry, I should have thought about it better." I said, looking into her eyes.

"Don't you ever do that again, you little bosh'tet! I thought you were going to die!" She yelled at me.

"I'm sorry." I said once more, looking at the ground.

"You idiot." She said, giving me a quick hug. "Come on, let's go find this doctor." She said, yanking me towards the dig entrance.

**Author's Notes: YEAH! CLIFFHANGER! Hope you guys don't kill me for this, but I want the mines and afterwards to be a separate chapter. I hope you all liked the big battle. Tell me if i'm getting better or worse with battle scenes. As always, please review and subscribe to my story, This is GIR, signing out.**


	14. Liara T'Soni

The team moved into the dig after we were finished collecting ourselves. After reaching the end of the large access tube, we opened the door with weapons drawn, revealing a large cavern with a Prothean structure on the far end. It was much bigger than it was in the game.

"Wow. Look at this place! It's huge!" I heard Kaidan say from behind me.

"Sure is big." Shepard said, looking over the railing.

"That...is what she said." Allen said, chuckling to himself.

I just rolled my eyes. "Shepard. It looks like there's a elevator over there. Should help us get down there." I said, pointing at the heavy lift on the other side of the cavern.

"Good. Let's find the good doctor and get out of here." Shepard said, putting away her pistol.

All of us piled into the elevator, stopping at a platform at the halfway point. As soon as the elevator reached the bottom of the shaft, it came to a grinding halt and shot out a few sparks.

"Uh, what was the weight limit on that thing?" I asked, being sarcastic.

"Looks like we'll need to find another way back up." Shepard said, climbing out of the elevator.

When everyone was out of the elevator, I heard a buzzing sound.

"Do any of you hear that?" I asked. Everyone stopped to listen more carefully.

"Drones!" Shepard yelled, yanking the pistol off her hip and aiming at the Geth drones that suddenly appeared on the other side of the catwalk. She shot four Geth drones before anyone else could even squeeze a shot off.

"Whoa, Shepard. Nice shots." Garrus commented, watching the remains of the drones hit the bottom of the cavern.

"Thanks." She replied quickly. "Come on, we need to find Dr. T'Soni before the Geth do."

"Got it, Shepard." Allen said as we continued down the catwalk towards the Prothean ruins.

"Uh, hello? Can somebody help me? Please?" I heard a voice say from the other side of the cavern.

"That must be Dr. T'Soni." Tali said as we all followed Shepard towards the sound. When we reached a broken part of the catwalk, we dropped down to see a figure floating on the other side of a force field.

"_Ah, we finally found the good doctor._"

...

We approached the force field, looking to see an Asari floating a few feet off the ground.

"Can you hear me out there? I'm trapped!" Liara said, floating in the Prothean force field, completely helpless.

"Liara T'Soni, I presume?" Shepard said, crossing her arms.

"Thank the goddess, I did not think anyone would come looking for me." She said, sounding relieved.

"Listen, this thing I'm in is a Prothean security device. I cannot move, so I need you to get me out of it, alright?" She said quickly, looking at all of us.

"How did you end up in there?" Shepard asked intently.

"I was exploring the ruins when the Geth showed up, so I hid in here. Can you believe that? Geth, beyond the Veil! I activated the tower's defenses, I knew the barrier currents would keep them out. When I turned it on, I must have hit something I wasn't suppose to. I was trapped in here, you must get me out, please!" Liara said, sounding desperate

"Your mother is working with Saren. Who's side are you on?" Shepard asked Liara, causing her to get a confused look on her face.

"What? I am not on anybody's "side"." She said, sounding surprised.

"I may be Benezia's daughter, but I am nothing like her! I have not spoken to her in years! Please, just get me out of here." Liara said, sounding worried.

A pang of sadness hit me. She is going to be so sad when she finds out her mother is dead.

"We'll find some way to help you." Shepard said to Liara to calm her. Liara started talking about the controls to deactivate the field, but I didn't really care. I couldn't stop looking a the force field. It looked like a layer of water going sideways. It was majestic in the way it shimmered away. When I touched the surface of the field, I was surprised when my hand wasn't met with any resistance.

"Uh, Shepard?" I said, putting my whole arm through the force field, getting a gasp out of Liara.

"By the goddess, how did you do that?" Liara asked, staring at my arm. Everyone was now staring at me.

"I...don't..know." I said, dumbfounded.

Shepard came over and rubbed her hand on the force field, being met with resistance. She looked surprised.

"Sean, can you get in there to turn off this security field?" Shepard asked me.

"I guess. Let's see..." I said, putting my whole body through the field. I came out on the other side, with the feeling of static on me.

"OK, how do I shut this thing off?" I asked Liara. She was giggling to herself.

"What's so funny?" I asked her.

"You hair is filled with static." She said, barley holding in her laughter.

Feeling mt hair, let out a loud groan. "Just tell me how to shut this thing off." I said one more time.

"Of course. That panel right there should be able to shut off the field." She said, eying up one of the larger buttons on the holographic interface.

"Not so fast, Sean. You sure she's on our side? Her mother was working with Saren." Wrex told me.

"I am not my mother! I don't even- I don't know why Benezia joined Saren. I don't want anything to do with that Turian bastard!" Liara yelled, sounding upset.

I thought about it for a second. "If she was with Saren, the Geth wouldn't be trying to kill her." I said, pressing the button. When I pressed it, there was a loud booming sound as the field surrounding Liara and the field keeping everyone out collapsed.

Liara dropped to her feet with a grunt, rubbing her head. Standing up, she quickly thanked me once more as everyone entered the room.

Shepard stepped up to Liara and asked her if she could come with us. She took less than a second to say yes. Allen stepped up next to me.

"Nice hair." He said in a sarcastic tone. I suddenly remembered an old trick my father had taught me from his time in the police department.

"I know how to fix it." I said, taking off my glove and pushing my index finder into the back of his ear. He recoiled from the static shock I gave him, along with the pain coming from his pressure point.

"Fuck!" He yelled, holding this ear as if it had just ripped it off.

"What happened?" Shepard asked, looking back in surprise.

"Allen had a shocking development." Thomas said, looking at Allen still clutching his ear.

"Nah, I pressed the pressure point in the back of his ear. Add the static charge I had, an you have a Allen control system." I said, running my hand through my hair.

"Screw you, Sean!" Allen yelled.

Everyone stared at the three of us. "Come on, guys. This isn't the time to play around. We still have Geth to deal with." Shepard said, facepalming.

"One thing I forgot to mention. There's also a Krogan with the Geth. They have been trying to find a way in ever since I put the field up." Liara chimed in.

Almost as if at command, the structure around us started shaking violently.

"These ruins are not stable. The shockwave given off by the ruins must have triggered a seismic event. We have to hurry. The whole place is caving in!" Liara said quickly.

"Joker! Get the Normandy airborne and lock onto my signal. On the double, mister!" Shepard said into the comm.

"Aye, aye, Commander. Secure and away. ETA eight minutes." Joker replied.

"We don't have that much time, Commander." Kaidan told Shepard.

"How are we supposed to get out? The lift is broken." Shepard debated.

"The lift in the ruins is still operational, at least I think it's a lift. We can use it to get back to the surface." Liara said, running towards the lift on the other side of the room.

"Let's go!" Shepard yelled as we piled into the lift.

"Sean, hit it." She said, gesturing towards the controls. I hit the hologram and the lift started ascending.

When we reached the top of the chamber, we were "greeted" by a Krogan Battlemaster and six Geth, two of which were destroyers. They had us right where they wanted us.

"Surrender, or don't. That would be more fun." The krogan told us.

"Shepard, we don't have time to deal with this idiot." I said in a hushed tone.

"These ruins are coming down, and you want to fight me?" Shepard said, gesturing the ruins around her.

"Yes, makes it more exciting, doesn't it?" He said as the Geth moved into position. "Kill them. Leave the Asari alive. Or not, it doesn't matter." He shrugged, drawing his Claymore Shotgun.

"I told you." I said right before we all scattered. Everyone went off in different directions. I hid behind a support, taking out my Revenant and blowing a hole in a destroyer's head. I saw everyone else had the Geth under control, but where did the Krogan go?

My question was answered when I felt the Battlemaster ram into me, sending me flying into a wall. Before I could get up, I was lifted by my neck off the floor by the Krogan to face level.

"You smell of death. You will be the first to die." He said, lifting me off the ground my throat. I couldn't breath.

"You humans are all the same. Weak." He said as I started seeing spots.

"I...don't...think so..." I managed to say as I stabbed the Krogan in the eye with my knife. He let out a roar of pain, dropping me and grabbing his eye socket. After regaining my breath, I picked up my knife and kicked him in the backside, causing him to topple to the ground. I jumped on top of him and jammed my knife under his headplate. He stared screaming at the top of his lungs as I started cutting the plate right off his head, causing blood to gush from under it.

"NOOO! STOP! PLEASE!" He screamed as I pulled the plate off with all my strength. I wasn't going to listen to him, I was pissed off now.

After the plate came off with a satisfying "snap", I got up with the plate in hand as the krogan rolled up into a ball and stared whimpering.

"Here you go." I said darkly, throwing the plate at him. I turned around to see Allen and Wrex staring at me. They both looked horrified.

"Holy shit." I heard Allen exclaim, crossing his arms.

"How the FUCK did you know how to pull a Krogan's plate off?" Wrex asked me, sounding surprised.

"What's the matter, Wrex? Intimidated?" I asked playfully.

"Come on, people! We need to leave!" Shepard yelled as the room started collapsing. I quickly yanked the sheath with a large knife off the Krogan's armor, hefting it.

"Thanks." I said, leaving the Krogan to his fate.

I started running as the room we were just in collapsed. I ran, dodging rocks falling from the top of the cavern.

"Shit!" I yelled, jumping over a gap where a piece of the catwalk collapsed. I jumped into the tube leading back to the surface. While I was running, Allen tripped, falling right on his face.

"Come on, Allen." I said, scraping Allen off the ground and running him towards the exit. When we reached the surface, we jumped into the waiting Normandy, flying away as the ruins filled with lava.

…

"Ow!" Allen yelled as Chakwas put another bandage on his face.

"Calm down. The sooner we put these skin grafts on, the sooner you can go out in public again." She said, adding another bandage.

"Why does it hurt so fucking much!" He yelled again, twitching at the bandage connected with his face.

"If you don't want scars, your going to have to deal with it." She replied calmly. I just laughed, watching Allen complain.

"Shut up, Sean!" He yelled at me, face half scrunched up from the pain given off by the bandages.

"I saved your life. The least you can do is let me get a laugh at the end result." I said, barely holding in my laughter.

"Why don't you do bother someone else, or go talk to your girlfriend?" He said, putting emphasis on "girlfriend". In response, I got up and jabbed the pressure point on Allen's hip.

"Fuck! Stop doing that!" He said, clutching his hip. "Where did you learn to do that, anyway?"

"From a certain somebody." I said as I left the room. Shepard was still talking to the Council, everyone else were at their post.

"_Talk to Tali? Nah, I'll go hand out with Thomas for a while._" I thought, heading towards our quarters. I walked in to see Thomas sitting out on the couch, watching something on his Omni-tool.

"Hey Sean." He said, looking up for a split second, and going right back to his video.

"Hey Thomas. What are you watching?" I asked, sitting on the couch next to him.

"Freeman's Mind. Turns out, he did finish the series." He said without looking up.

"Really? When I last checked, he was releasing like...two episodes every year." I replied with sarcasm dripping from my voice.

"Odd thing is that it's still popular. Cool thing is that someone remade the entire series in Black Mesa." He responded dryly.

"They finished that too?" I asked, surprised. Before they got here, Black Mesa was still in the middle of development hell.

"Yep. When we get to the Citadel, I'm going to buy a personal terminal to play it on. I hope Steam still works around here." He said, pausing the video. "So, how's Mr. Skin-Face doing?"

"Getting skin grafts to avoid scars." I said, chuckling at the image. "And bitching like a little girl."

"Sounds like Allen. You know when he's getting out?" Thomas responded.

"No. I'll probably be a while." In said, starting to take off my armor.

"So what happened to that krogan guy? I heard you kicked his ass." Thomas asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Well, what happened was he charged me after I killed one of the destroyers, picking me up off the ground by my neck. I started seeing spots, when I took out my knife and stabbed the bastard in the eye. He dropped me, more focused on his lack of an eye than me. I was pissed, so I kicked that Krogan in the ass, jumped on top of him, and cut the plate off his head, causing him to crawl into a ball and start whimpering." I said, recalling the fight with vivid detail.

"Damn, that must have been tough. I doubt I would have been able to do that." Thomas said, letting out an exaggerated sigh.

After finishing with my armor, I took the knife off my armor's chest piece, putting it to the side and strapping the other knife to it.

"Now this is a knife." I said in a exaggerated Australian accent.

"That it is. You have killed how many things with your hands now? About four or five?" I lost track.?" Thomas responded.

"I don't know. There was Stirling, the Geth Juggernaut, the Armature, and The Battlemaster." I said bluntly.

"The only thing I've used my knife for was for trimming my fingernails. You have killed four things more powerful than me so far." He said, rubbing his temples.

"Don't worry. You'll have your chance one day." I said, putting the knife back in the sheath.

"Sure. Only if you stop killing everything first." Thomas replied.

"Maybe."

I looked around the room, after playing with my Omni-tool for a while, I decided to retire for the night.

"Thomas, wake me when we reach the Citadel." I said, laying on the bed.

'Sure. Goodnight, sweet prince." Thomas replied slyly.

"Screw you, Thomas." I said, falling asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

**Author's Notes: Long chapter. I finally got Therum out of the way. I hope you guys like it. I'm taking suggestions for what to do on the Citadel. I already plan to have the trio customize their armor and stuff. Any more things for them to do will be taken into consideration. As always, please review and subscribe to my story for updates. This is GIR, signing out.**


	15. Armor And Sniper Rifles

I woke up about three hours later. Thomas was still watching Freeman's Mind on the couch, and Allen still hadn't been released from the Med Bay.

I yawned and said hi to Thomas. He just nodded as he watched Freeman's Mind and munched on the chocolate bar I had given him earlier. It made me hungry, so I thought about getting something to eat.

I ordered a old dish called Pesto, pasta with a green herb olive oil sauce. It was the only "green" food I really liked.

"_Ironic. My favorite color is green, and I hate green foods._" I thought as my food was processed.

After receiving my food, I sat down to eat. A few minutes later, I was surprised when Liara sat down in front of me. She looked depressed.

She knows.

"Uh, hi Liara. Is there something you needed?" I asked in a soft tone.

"Oh just...nothing. I didn't really get the chance to thank you for releasing me from those ruins." She said, finally looking up. She didn't want to talk about it.

"It was no problem." I replied simply, not touching on the issue.

"Speaking of which, how did you bypass that security field? No living creature should be physically capable of walking through one." She said, her eyes sparked with interest.

"I still don't really know. During our first mission, Shepard took samples of my blood and found out I somehow have high levels of Eezo in my blood, but can't use biotics or anything." I explained bluntly. She stared at me as I talked.

"Wow, that's amazing." She said, looking back at her food.

"Sounds useful, right? Anyway, what are you going to do on the Citadel once we get there?" I asked, directing the question away from me to her.

"I'm...really not too sure. I will probably buy some armor and weapons for our missions." She said, sounding surprised at the question.

By this time, I was finished with my Pesto, since I ate like someone in the Army.

"Well Liara, I'll see you later. Need to get ready." I said, disposing of my tray.

"Oh, OK. Goodbye." She said, looking back at the table.

"Oh, and Liara?" I asked, causing her to turn around again. "I'm sorry about your mother." I said softly.

She didn't say anything. She just turned back around and stared at her food. I could hear her sobbing softly was I walked away.

"_Dammit, Sean. Learn to keep your mouth shut._"

...

"Is everyone ready for some shore leave?" Shepard asked everyone who was gathered in the cockpit to get on the Citadel.

Since I was getting my armor customized, I had it in a case. I was wearing my jeans with my surplus jacket, with a Normandy crew shirt underneath of it. Both Allen, who's face had been healed by the skin grafts, and Thomas, still had his visor on, had decided to wear their armor with their clothes underneath of it.

"You guys expecting a fight?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Maybe." Allen responded quietly. His face was bright red on the left where the grafts were applied.

"So, what are you going to do?" Thomas asked.

"I wanna customize my armor a bit, maybe buy a new helmet..." I said excitedly, twiddling my thumbs.

"You sound excited." Shepard said, smiling.

"Oh, I didn't mean to say it like that..." I said, embarrassed.

"Too late." Allen chirped.

"Quiet, leather-face." I said casually since his face was still red, getting a chuckle out of a few people in the cockpit, including Joker.

Allen didn't say anything. He just got the pole-up-the-ass expression on his face, causing me to crack up even more.

"Hey, lighten up, Allen. If you weren't here, we wouldn't have anyone for Chakwas to work on." Thomas said, punching Allen in the shoulder.

Allen just looked up at the ceiling and said "I hate you all.", inciting more laughter.

The Normandy lurched at we came into the docking port and connected.

"Well everyone, You have arrived at your destination. Thank you for riding Joker airlines. Please leave tips for the pilot in the plastic cup located to your left." Joker said playfully. I looked to the left to see there was a plastic cup hot-glued to the dashboard.

"Funny." I said, heading into the airlock.

"I try." Joker said as the airlock closed.

...

We stepped out of the Normandy and got in the elevator. When we got to the C-Sec headquarters, Shepard had us bunch up.

"OK, everyone. We will meet back on the dock it six hours. Don't get into any trouble, and have fun." Shepard said, leaving with Kaidan and Ash tailing her. Tali, Garrus, and Liara decided to tag along with us. Wrex went off by himself to do whatever.

"OK, so what do you guys want to do?" I asked everyone.

"I want to go get something to eat." Allen said, flexing his arm.

"I wanted to go looking for some new scopes for my sniper rifle." Garrus said.

"What he said." Thomas chimed in.

"Alright, let's do this. Garrus and Thomas can go look for their scopes, Allen and Liara can go get something to eat and get some armor and weapons, and Tali and I can go looking for Omni-tool mods." I said. Everyone nodded in approval.

"Good. We meet back where Shepard said in six hours. Good shopping, everyone." I said, and walking away with Tali.

...

"So Tali, can I drop off my armor before we go shopping? I ordered a job for my armor." I asked her.

"Sure. I needed to find some new shield boosters anyway. Too bad the better ones are so expensive." She said, browsing the catalog she downloaded.

"I'll be buying." I said, accessing my bank account.

"Oh Sean, I couldn't-" She started to say, when I held up my hand.

"Think of it as a present. Besides, I have plenty of money to go around." I said, stepping into the body shop. Sets of armor lined the walls, along with assorted junk. Looked like a electronic jungle.

"Wow." Tali said, looking around.

"Go browse around. I'll take a while before they finish with my armor." I said, heading towards the front counter.

"Ah, hello!" The Turian behind the counter said. "Are you the custom job we were expecting today?" He asked.

"Yeah, that's me." I responded, setting my armor case on the counter with a loud "clank".

"_He's being really nice._" I thought. "_Duh, of course they would be nice to me. I'm dropping almost 50,000 credits on this job._" I told myself.

"Alright, just sign here and we will get started." He said, handing me some sort of pen and a datapad. I wrote my signature and handed it back to him.

"Thank you, sir. Your armor should be ready in two hours. We can page your Omni-tool if we finish early." The Turian said happily, grabbing the case and handing it to a human who walked out of the back room.

"Thank you." I replied, turning around to see Tali holding a shield mod and another object I didn't recognize.

"What's that?" I asked.

"It's a combat drone. It floats around and shocks people during combat when I deploy it." She responded, happy.

"Cool. What are you going to name it?" I asked playfully.

"Um...I don't know." She said, surprised at the question.

"Maybe you should name it Chiktikka vas Paus." I said, using the name of her ME2 drone.

"Wow, that's a great name!" She said, taking immediate interest to the name.

"Glad to be of help." I said, paying for her equipment. Tali placed her mod on her shield generator, and her drone on her left arm.

"So, we have two hours to burn before my armor is finished. What do you want to do?" I asked her, hugging her shoulder.

"I don't know. Maybe we could take a walk around the Presidium?" She said, pretending to look around.

"Sure. We can do that." I said, taking out my Omni-tool and finding a route.

"Are you sure you don't just want to look for more weapons?" She asked.

"Nah, unless you were looking for something. Were you?" I responded, looking back at her.

"No, no, nothing like that. I didn't want to...interrupt anything you may ha-" She started to say as I cut her off.

"Tali, you are not bothering me by wanting to do anything. You are welcome to voice what you may or may not want to do. You don't need to be so selfless." I told her, giving her a big hug.

"I'm...I'm sorry, Sean. It's just...Quarians were always taught to work for the better of the Fleet. It is hard to deal with having access to all of this. And, you of course." She said. I swear she was blushing under that mask.

"I'm glad to have you too. Let's go take that walk" I said, putting my arm through hers.

And with that, we took a walk to the Presidium.

…

Thomas POV

"No, no, no. Single shot is more powerful. The semi-automatic ones aren't powerful enough." Garrus protested in the Gun Shop he and I were in. We were arguing over sniper rifles.

"True, but semi-automatic ones don't need to be cycled after every shot, and they can lay down a better field of fire." I replied, crossing my arms.

"True, true. So which should I buy?" Garrus asked, looking intently at the Mantis Sniper Rifle on the shelf.

"Hmm...it's up to you." I said, looking back at the scopes. "It's your money."

"Mantis is it then." Garrus said, picking up the sniper rifle, and folding it up.

I stood there, looking at the scopes. I wanted one that was capable of linking into his visor without decreasing the zoom, but he couldn't find one.

"Hey Garrus, do you know where I can find a good scope? I can't find one that works with my visor." I asked, pointing to his visor.

"The problem isn't the scopes. The problem is the visor. You need a modification to make that work correctly. Buy whatever scope you wanted and I can configure it later." Garrus said, walking over and looking at the scopes.

"So, why did you join C-Sec?" I asked, looking at Garrus and back at the scopes.

"I dunno. Dad does it. Thought it's what he would have wanted after my mother died." He said, picking up one of the scopes and looking through it.

"Oh, I'm sorry." I responded, looking down at the ground. I had forgotten about that.

"Don't be. It's nobody's fault. Besides, it was years ago." He said, putting down the scope and picking up another one.

"It's just...how did you deal with your loss? I've been worried about Sean. Ever since his Uncle died, he hasn't acted as lively an he used to. He's always staring off into the distance, looking at something the rest of us can't see." Thomas said, looking back at gym class a few weeks ago. Sean just stood there, staring at the distance.

"He misses him. Was he close to his uncle?" Garrus asked, putting down the scope and looking at me.

"Yeah. They did a lot of things together. When he died, Sean didn't come out of his room for two days." I responded, thinking back to the two days he didn't go to school. When he came back, he had rings under his eyes and dragged his feet instead of picking them up.

"Don't worry, he'll come around. Just give him more time." Garrus reassured. "Come on. Let's pay for this and go."

"Gotcha." I said, hopping in the line with Garrus.

"_Hmph. Sean hasn't been dragging his feet ever since he met Tali. Lucky dog better be good to her._" Thomas thought to himself, paying for his stuff and leaving with Garrus.

…

Sean POV

"AH-CHOO!"

"Wow, are you alright?" Tali asked, placing her hand on my lap.

"I'm fine." I said, rubbing my nose. "Someone must be talking about me."

"What?" Tali asked.

"Ah, just a old housewives myth. When someone is talking about you and you can't hear it, they say it makes you sneeze." I responded, wiping my nose with a Kleenex. Or, this universe's equivalent of a Kleenex. I don't know. Who cares?

Tali and I were sitting on a bench in the Presidium, watching the fountains in the middle of the lake. It was so much more beautiful in real life than it was in the game. I wonder if there are any fish...

Oh yeah. I forgot about that.

"That's a odd thing to make up. Do you believe in it?" Tali asked, folding her hands on her lap.

"Yes and no." I responded simply. "Just a funny thing to think of. We create silly things like that to entertain ourselves. Such a simple race, we are." I said, looking at Tali and back to the fountain.

"It sure helps solidify you race's reputation. My race it too busy fixing things and surviving to worry about such things." Tali said, looking at something on her Omni-tool.

"Yeah, but we aren't perfect. We were still using gunpowder-based weapons when you fled your home world. Even after everything humanity has done, all our advancements, all we still seem to be good at is killing things." I said, thinking back to home.

"That's not true. Your race has plenty of things that make it unique. You are innovative and good at establishing colonies in my opinion." Tali said, looking at the lake.

"Maybe." I said, looking at the krogan statue on the other side of the lake. "Although, the krogans probably still occupy the position of most violent."

Tali giggled. "You mean like Wrex?"

"Yeah. Guy looks pretty good for being so old and violent, doesn't he?" I asked slyly.

"Sure does." Tali replied, putting away her Omni-tool and scooting closer to me.

I leaned my head backwards, closing my eyes and letting out a deep sigh.

"_Tali, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me._"

**Author's Notes: Sorry this took so long to get out. I've been fighting through a writer's block for a good two weeks now. I'm planning to move, and we're still waiting to see if the bank is going to accept our offer. It's been stressful to say the least. Write a review saying whether or not you want Allen to have a relationship with Liara, and what they should do in the next chapter. Remember to favor, alert, and write a review. This is GIR, signing out.**

**P.S. If I can get it to work, I'll set up a poll in my profile for that Allen x Liara thing. **


	16. Cool Helmet, Bro

**Author's Notes: So, everyone voted for Allen and Liara to have a relationship. Ugh. God help me, I'm at my reader's mercy. Well, you want a relationship? I guess you will get it. Here's Chapter 16, folks.**

I walked into the store where my armor was being worked on. I told Tali to wait outside, saying it was a surprise.

"Hey, you done with my armor?" I asked the turian behind the counter.

"Yes sir! Let me go get it for you." He said, running into the backroom. He came back out with my case.

"And...here you go, sir. If there are any problems with the armor, just contact us and we will see if we can fix it." The turian behind the counter said, hefting the case with my armor in it.

"By the way, I just want to say that is one of the best helmet designs I have ever seen." The human in the back yelled.

"Thanks!" I yelled back.

The turian opened the case in the back, taking out a slim helmet that looked reminiscent of a gas mask with glowing red goggles with a old WW2 combat helmet on it. I sent them a picture of the NCR Veteran Ranger helmet from my iPod, and requested to have it painted dark gray. I never thought in my entire life I would be able to see it in real life.

"Wow...it turned out better than I have ever anticipated! Nice job!" I yelled to the backroom.

"No problem." He said, walking out of the backroom and picking up the helmet. "The only issue I had with it was the HUD system. I worked a series of sensors into your armor that detect and display anything on your persons." He said, looking inside of the helmet. I noticed his arm was a cybernetic, similar to Kat's from Halo: Reach.

"While your wearing it, it should feel as light as air. The button on the side of the helmet changes the vision mode you are currently using. It filters out gases, poisons, and pretty much anything else you can think of." He said, putting down the helmet and turning it around. "These two cylinders behind the helmet will recycle air for up to six hours in a vacuum. You can switch them out with new ones anytime you want."

He picked up the helmet, handing it to me. "It was fun making this. Thanks."

I took the helmet with one hand, and shook the man's hand with the other one. "Your welcome. Is there a place I can change into this?" I asked.

"There is a dressing room over in that corner." The man said, pointing to a booth in the corner.

"Thank you." I said, grabbing my case and stepping into the booth. It took me about five minutes to put my armor. I looked it over in the mirror, loving the custom paint job I ordered. It was similar to that of the ODST armor from Halo, but included a small jagged white line going down the left side of the armor.

I took the helmet and put it on, hearing the pressure equalize and the HUD activating. It showed the small pistol on the side in the corner of the display, having a cold clip. I turned my head around, surprised at how light it felt.

"This is cool." I said to myself, putting all my clothes aside from my jacket in the case and closing it. I walked out of the booth, throwing the craftsman a extra chit. I waved and walked out of the store.

"Uhh...Sean? Is that you?" I heard Tali ask as I walked up to her.

"Yeah! So do you like?" I asked in a digitized voice, holding my arms out for emphasis.

"That is a really intimidating helmet." He said, staring at me.

"But do you like it?" I asked once more, taking off the helmet with a hiss.

"I like it. It's a...neat design." He said, folding her arms. "Where did you get that helmet?"

"I got it custom made. Has a whole bunch of custom features added too." I said, putting down my case.

"Here. Take this. I want you to have it." I said, offering her my jacket.

She moved in what I took as surprise.

"Are...are you sure? That coat is really important to you." She said, putting one hand on the coat.

"You are just as important. Please, take it." I said, gesturing the coat to her.

Tali stood there for a second, and finally decided to take the coat.

"I'll take good care of it." She said, putting it on.

"It's yours now, Tali. Keep it safe." I said, patting her shoulder. "Come on. Let's go back to the ship."

…

Allen's POV

"So, is that everything you need?" I asked, holding a case with Liara's new armor.

"Yes, I do believe that is all I need." Liara responded calmly.

"Are you sure? I have plenty of money if you want anything else." I said, gesturing with his Omni-tool.

"No, that is fine. Thank you, though." She replied.

"Well...do you want to get something to eat?" I asked in a semi-excited tone.

"Umm...sure. It would be nice to have something to eat." Liara said back.

"Good! Now, where should we go..." I said, going through a list of restaurants. "Ah, here we go!"

"Where do you think we should go?" Liara asked.

"How about we go to Dark Star? It's a cool little club down in the Zakera Wards." I replied calmly.

"Sure. That sounds enjoyable." Liara said.

"Awesome. I'll call a cab." I responded happily.

"A cab?" Liara asked quizzically.

"Oh. Back in the 21st century, we used to use ground based vehicles called taxi cabs or "cabs" for personal transportation." I answered calmly.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Liara said, embarrassed.

"It's fine. Come on." I responded as a cab pulled in.

…

"So, what are you going to get?" I asked Liara over the music.

"I was thinking of getting the Calamari Gumbo. Sounds interesting." Liara said, sitting up strait. "How about you?"

"Umm...I think I'm going to get a cheeseburger." I said quickly. "So what do you think of this place?"

"It's quite lively. It's also a little noisy." Liara said, looking at all the activity in the club.

"You'll get used to it. Are you ready to order?" I asked, closing the menu.

"I suppose I'm ready if you are." Liara said over the music.

…

After having our lunch, Liara and I started back to the ship.

"Why would you do that? That seems a little cruel." Liara asked.

"Well it's only a video game. It's funny to see people being so dramatic over a game, especially when it's a small thing." I responded, thinking back to all the funny times Sean, Thomas, and I have griefed people over Xbox Live.

"Still, it seems a bit unnecessary to do such things." Liara said, looking off at the nebula.

While we were walking, something caught my eye. I saw what looked like a NCR ranger helmet from New Vegas, walking with Tali.

"What the fuck...HEY!" I shouted, getting the figure to turn around.

…

Sean's POV

"_What was that?_" I thought, turning around to face the person who shouted. It was Allen.

"Hey, what's up, Allen?" I yelled in my electronic tone.

Allen looked confused. "What the hell? Sean, is that you?" Allen shouted.

I started laughing my ass off. "Oh course it's me, you fool!" I replied, taking off my helmet with a hiss.

He and Liara walked over, giving me quizzing looks. "Where that hell did you get that?" He asked.

"I got it custom made, man. If you were smart, you could have done the same." I said, putting the helmet back on.

"Man, I was wondering who that was with Tali for a second. You gave me a jump, Sean." Allen said, sitting down on a bench.

"Did you think I would follow someone different?" Tali asked playfully.

"No, but you never know." Allen said, facepalming.

"Were you heading back to the ship?" I asked. Allen looked up.

"Yeah. Mind if we follow you?" Allen said.

"No, we don't mind. You two ready?" I asked, offering Allen my hand.

"Yeah, let's go." He said as I pulled him up.

…

When we got closer to the wards where the Normandy was docked, Allen and I decided to go visit Morlan. After having a nice discussion with him, we both got some medical kits for our next mission. While walking back, we encountered a group of eleven men who blocked our way.

"Hey, what are you doing with that quarian piece of trash?" The man leading the group said, getting a few chuckles out of his buddies. I looked back to see Tali tense up.

I was pissed at the man's sudden burst of racism, but kept calm. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" I said in my electronic voice.

"I SAID, what are you doing with that quarian piece of trash?" He repeated. I snatched the man off the ground by his collar, putting my helmet in his face. His friends jumped at the sudden movement, but did nothing.

"Listen buddy, if you call my friend that again, I'm going to have to dick around for and hour to get my knife out of your ass." I said in a deep, threatening tone.

The man must have been high, drunk, really stupid, or something because he said something else to the big, armored man in the scary mask.

"Those backstabbing thieves can go to hell. Fuck your "friend"." He said, spitting on my mask. It was then I lost it.

I took the man and slammed him on the floor, causing him to yell as I put my foot on the back of his neck. All his buddies were about to spring into action, but were stopped when Liara threw a biotic wave knocking them all down. Allen and Tali drew their shotguns and aimed at the men.

"Listen to me. All of you get out of here before we have an incident." I said, taking out my pistol and pointing it at the man's head. The men promptly left, leaving only Mr. Mouth.

"Hey come back here!" The man shouted at his fleeing buddies.

"Great friends you have there." Allen said, crouching next to the man. "You seen to have more balls than brains compared to them, though."

"Fuck you!" The man spat out, struggling under my boot.

"Aw, that's not very nice." Allen replied sarcasticly.

"Listen , buddy. Quarians are just like you and me. They are not thieves or criminals, they are people. You had better treat them with respect, or else something like this will happen to you again." I said, lifting up my boot and allowing the man to scurry away.

"Little coward. Not so tough without his buddies, is he?" I asked Allen.

"Yeah well, don't talk shit about other people. That's a simple rule, and a easy one to follow." He replied. I shot him a shit-eating grin.

"MOST of the time." He corrected, turning back to Liara.

I walked back to Tali, who seemed distraught.

"Are you alright, Tali?" I asked, giving her shoulder a hug.

"I've never gotten used to the racism ever since I left the Fleet. It's hard to take." He said, clutching the top of her helmet. "Thanks for that. You didn't need to do that, you know."

"They deserved it. Ignorant assholes." I said, waving my hand in the air of emphasis.

"Let's see if we can get back to the ship without anymore incidents." Tali said, putting her hand on my shoulder.

…

After reaching the ship, we all entered and went to our post. I got a few surprised glances from the crewmen due to my helmet. I walked back to our quarters, crashing on the couch.

"Damn, exciting day, huh?" Allen asked, sitting down next to me.

"Yeah. Armor, walking, and beating up racist people. I've have enough of the Citadel for today." I said, going into my Omni-tool and watching Freeman's Mind.

"So, we're going to Virmire next, right?" Allen asked, breaking my concentration.

"_Oh no. I forgot about that. Oh shit..._" I thought, facepalming.

**Author's Notes: Well, here comes Virmire. Tough choices are to be made in the near future. I'm sorry if this chapter may have been a little boring, but the school year is almost over, and I wanted to get them off the Citadel before I ran out of ideas. The poll this time will be whether or not my OC characters should be involved with the events that take place on the planet. Please visit my profile and vote. This is GIR, signing out.**


	17. Raise Your Weapon

**Author's Notes: Lots of work to be done. Moving is much more work than most people realize. It doesn't help that my main computer is on the fritz too, meaning I have to write this on my mother's computer. *sigh* At least school is finished…**

…

_I jump behind the cover as an explosion goes off where I had been before. Allen and Thomas fire off Warps, ripping apart the two Collectors who were firing at me from the ledge. I look to the left, seeing Tali collapsed on the ground, clutching her shotgun behind a crate. I watch as the Collector controlled by Harbinger fires a ball of energy towards Tali's position._

"_Tali!" I shout as her cover is ripped apart, and the Collectors turn to aim at her._

"_NO!" I shout as everything goes black_.

…

I woke up in my bed, sweating profusely. I realized that I was short on breath and forced myself to calm down. I looked around to see Allen and Thomas were still sleeping, and that the time was 5:00. I let myself hit the pillow, exhausted at what I had just experienced.

"_That was real. There is no way that was a dream."_

I needed to clear my head, so I decided to take a shower. I left the quarters, seeing that no one else was up yet. I hopped in, letting the warm water run off of me. My mind wandered off to all the events of the last few days, and it stopped with the upcoming attack on Virmire. Shepard still hasn't received the mission from the Council, but she was going to get it soon enough. I jumped out of the shower, running my hands through my hair since there was no comb to be found.

The day before, the three of us went over what was going to occur on Virmire. We decided that if Shepard tried to pick any of us, we would try our hardest to squirm out of it. We also decided against trying to warn Shepard, since we didn't have any idea what it could cause and we would be labeled insane or something. Even with the reasoning, I still didn't like it. Who would?

After drying off, I slipped back into my casual clothes and took the lift down to Engineering. I walked into the Cargo Bay, seeing it devoid of all activity with the exception of Wrex, who was sleeping against the crate he always hangs by.

I snuck past him, slipping into Engineering to see Adams was already down here.

"What's up, Adams?" I said, walking over to his workstation.

"Oh. Hello, Sean." He said, looking over his shoulder and back to the console.

"What are you doing up so early?" I asked, watching the drive core.

"I might ask the same of you." He said, not bothering to look at me as he worked on the core.

"I asked first." I shot back.

"I come down here to work if I have trouble sleeping. Now you answer." He said, risking a glance at me as he worked.

"Bad dream. Needed to clear my head." I answered calmly.

"Oh. Well, feel free to watch the core. It's not like you're going to hurt anything." He replied.

"Unless I find a big red button marked "Self Destruct"." I said slyly. "Thank you for pressing the Self Destruct button."

"Very funny. Remind me to tell Tali to stop giving you lessons." He said dryly.

"Hey! It's me!" I said, shooting him a devious smile.

…

After watching the core for a little while longer, Tali and the rest of Engineering woke up and made their way down to their post. While Tali was giving me another lesson, Joker called for everyone to meet Shepard in the Briefing Room to get the details on our next assignment.

"_Oh god, here it comes…"_

Tali and I hopped into the lift, and she took notice of my shiftiness.

"Sean? What's wrong?" She asked, putting her hand on my shoulder.

"Nothing. Breakfast just doesn't agree with me." I said, shooting her a smile.

"Are you sure? Maybe you should go see Chakwas or…" Tali started.

"No, no, I'm fine, Tali. Don't worry yourself." I said, cutting her off.

"Um…alright." She said, giving up.

After finishing the ride up in awkward silence, we walked into the Briefing Room. What took me by surprise was the fact that Thomas and Allen both looked like they had seen ghost. I laid off on asking them for now as Shepard started telling us about our next assignment: Virmire.

I listened closely as Shepard briefed us on the mission. She said everything I was expecting her to say. Salarians, Saren, all that jazz. Once she was finished, she told all of us to get ready. Thomas, Allen and I went back down to our quarters.

"Okay, what's wrong with you guys?" I asked, causing them to look at me suddenly.

They both looked at each other, and looked back to me. "We saw it. You were right." Allen finally said.

"You two saw the Prothean?" I asked, barely able to contain by happiness that I wasn't insane.

"Yeah." He replied simply.

"ETA is ten minutes, everybody." Joker said over the comm.

"Look, let's talk about this later. We have a mission to deal with." I said, causing them to move as if I had just shot them full of adrenaline.

…

I donned my armor and NCR helmet, making my way down to the Hanger. Shepard looked surprised.

"You like it?" I asked in my altered voice.

"What is it?" She asked, staring at my new helmet.

"Custom made helmet. My own design." I said, leaning against the Mako.

"Can I have one?" Garrus asked from the other side.

"No." I replied simply.

"Aww…" He said in an exaggerated tone.

We waited for everyone to arrive. Once we were all accounted for, we dropped from the Normandy onto Virmire.

"_Here we go…"_

**Author's Notes: Sorry for the short chapter. Once my computer has been repaired, I will write longer chapters. Until then, you will have to do with this. Please favor and comment on my story. This is GIR, signing out.**


	18. Not Of This World

**Aythor's Notes: My computer parts came yesterday, but the new power converter was the wrong size. (Yells insanely as he punches a wall.) Well anyway, enjoy the new chapter. For what it's worth, I've tried something different. Hope you guys like it.**

…

The ride to the Salarians camp went rather smoothly. Shepard had Garrus on the turret this time, so all the rest of us could do is endure Catharine's driving skills. We hopped out once and awhile to open a gate or disable an AA turret, but that was about it. When we reached the Salarians camp, the Normandy was floating above the water, and the Salarians were waiting for us.

Shepard went to talk to Commander Kirahee, leaving the rest of us to our own devices. None of the Salarians looked to be in a talking mood, so the three of us got on our Omni-tools and created a private channel.

"OK, guys. This is the moment of truth." I said in a hushed tone, despite the fact my helmet's speakers were turned off.

"You mean the moment we are chosen to die or not, right?" Allen said in a sarcastic tone.

"You know what he means, jackass. We just need to keep our cool." Thomas said to Allen.

"Yeah, fine. But remember, I didn't sign up for this." Allen remarked.

"None of us did." I said in a dry tone.

"True." Allen quickly replied.

"Now we wait." Thomas said.

With that, we all found a stop in one of the tents and took a seat.

…

We waited around for our orders about two hours, when we saw Wrex storm away from Shepard's group.

"Looks like Wrex got the bad news." I said. I heard Allen snort as he woke up.

"Let's hope Shepard can calm him down." Thomas said in a worried tone.

"I hope so too." I replied, watching Wrex walk over to the water and start shooting fish.

I saw Shepard walk over to Wrex. They started talking, when they drew their weapons and aimed at each other. I saw Ash tense up, turning the safety off on her assault rifle. I saw Shepard working her magic, and Wrex finally calmed down.

"That looked close. Thank God…" Allen said, breaking the silence between the three of us.

"Well, that problem is out of the way." I said in response.

"Now onto the bigger problem." Thomas said, as Shepard called everyone over to her position.

The briefing started, with Shepard going over all the basics. The AA guns, the Genophage cure, and Saren. What took the three of us by surprise was the extra addition to the mission. Apparently, Saren was also having his engineers work on a prototype weapon unlike any of us had seen. Shepard wanted the three of us to crawl through the sewer system to the Weapon labs to find it. If we could, take it. If not, destroy it. Afterwards, we would meet back up with Shepard's team and help her with the assault on Saren's lab.

"I know you three can get the job done. Don't let me down." Shepard told the three of us.

"We wouldn't let you down." I said, putting my hands behind my back.

"Good. We have a job to do, people. Let's get it done." Shepard said, getting an assortment of replies from all of us.

After Captain Kirahee's speech to his men, we moved out.

…

"We've reached the sewer entrance, Shepard." I radioed.

"Good. Get in there and find that weapon. Try to minimize your sound to lower the chances of the weapon getting moved before you get there." She said.

"Yes ma'am. We'll get the job done." I replied, closing the channel. "Alright. Allen put that Thermite paste on the grate and get us in. Thomas, cover our flank.

Allen got to work applying the paste the Salarians gave us while we waited. Two minutes later, we were ready to rock and roll.

"Cover your eyes." Allen said, igniting the Thermite. There was a flash, and the edges of the grate were burned to a white hot crisp. I grabbed the middle of the grate, pulling it off like it was nothing.

"We're in. Let's find that weapon." I said, stepping into the sewer tunnel.

…

We followed the schematics the Salarians had given us. We wandered through the sewer for seven minutes, Allen and Thomas complaining about the smell the entire way, when we finally reached our target, a ladder going up to an exit. I climbed up, hacking the hatch's lock and getting us in.

The hatch was in a room filled top to bottom with crates. The three of us filed out of the sewer, securing the position. The schematics showed that the weapon should be two rooms away. We opened the door to the next room, seeing a sight that made me feel like puking in my mask.

There was a pile of mangled corpses laying in the middle of the room, all twisted, covered in blood, and human.

"Jesus Christ. What the fuck did they do to these people?" Allen asked, voicing what was in all our heads.

"I don't know." I said, feeling like my lunch was going to come up.

The corpses were cut up and rotting, some missing limbs or being cut completely in half.

"Come on, there's nothing we can do for them now. We need to find this weapon." I said, working through the pain in my stomach. We all formed up on the door as I hacked it.

"OK…go!" I said, as we entered the room, dropping two Geth who were standing guard. We looked around in confusion. There was more than one weapon, and all of them looked like the weapons from Dead Space.

"What the hell is this? Is Saren making weapons from Dead Space?" Allen asked, hefting the Contact Beam.

"I don't know." I said, picking up the Pulse Rifle. I opened it up, seeing that it uses heat sinks instead of pulse rounds. I pressed a button on its side, causing it to collapse into a smaller form. "Groovy."

"OK, everyone get what you can carry." I said, grabbing a Plasma Cutter, Force Gun, and a Flamethrower, folding them up and putting them on my back. Thomas grabbed a Seeker Rifle, Pulse Rifle, and Plasma Cutter. Allen took off his backpack filled with explosives and took a Contact Beam, Pulse Rifle, and Line Gun.

"Doesn't is seem a little weird that they would only leave two Geth go guard all of this? It doesn't feel right." Thomas asked, loading a heat sink into his Plasma Cutter.

"Your right. We should probably get out of here soon." Allen said, inserting six heat sinks into his Contact Beam.

"Let's hurry up." I said, checking for alarms once more.

While Allen placed the explosives in the room, I took an OSD from the computer containing the schematics for the weapons and put it in my pocket. They could come in handy.

"Alright, the explosives are set. Ready to split?" Allen asked, standing back up.

"Yeah. Give me the detonator." I told him.

"Gotcha. Here you go." Allen said, handing me the detonator.

We opened the door to the next room, to find it was pitch black.

"Whoa. Is there a power outage?" Thomas asked.

"Here. Give me a second." I said, switching my night vision on. It bathed the room in a sickly green glow, revealing cells lining the walls.

"Well? What do you see?" Allen asked.

"There are cells lining the walls. There may be survivors in here." I said, aiming my Plasma Cutter's flashlight at the cells at the others did the same with their weapons.

I walked over to one of the cells, looking into it. The window was covered with some kind of film my night vision couldn't penetrate, so I turned it off and used my flashlight. I looked, seeing nothing, when something jumped at me that caused me to scream and fall down.

"What? What happened?" Allen yelled.

"We got to get out of here. NOW!" I yelled, jumping back on my feet and running back towards the room we came from, when the doors suddenly closed.

"SHIT! NO!" I yelled, banging on the door with no avail. I heard all the locks on the cells disengage, causing my heart to sink.

"Sean, what happened?" Allen yelled as growls and moans started filling the room.

"Necromorphs." I said, aiming my Plasma Cutter at the nearest cell as a grotesque figure came out of it.

**Author's Notes: Well, there's the big surprise. Hope I didn't go TOO far, but it never hurts to experiment. Anyway, tell me if you like it or not, guys. Please remember to rate, comment, and subscribe to my story. This is GIR, signing out.**


	19. New Horizons

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Allen yelled, taking out his Line Gun and firing on the descending hoard. I switched my night vision back on, seeing there were dozens of Necromorphs in the room with us.

"FFFUUUCCCKKK!" I yelled, firing my Plasma Cutter wildly at the approaching forms. I exhausted the thermal clip, taking the Flamethrower off my back and lighting anything with glowing eyes on fire.

"We need to get the hell out of here!" Thomas yelled, unloading his Pulse Rifle into the mob.

"How? We're sealed in!" I yelled, loading another can into my Flamethrower.

"Use the explosives! It might blow a hole in the wall!" Allen yelled, hoards descending faster than he could insert thermal clips into his Line Gun.

"Are you kidding? The blast could kill us!" Thomas yelled, loading another clip into his Pulse Rifle.

"Well unless you have a better idea!" Allen replied.

It was at that moment, I felt something snap in my head. I was like a dam had just broken, allowing water to flood my mind. I felt something I had never felt before, something built up inside of me. I closed my eyes, feeling the power around me as I launched a biotic field, disintegrating all the Necromorphs in the room. Almost as quickly as it happened, I clutched my head in pain.

"AHHHHHGGGG!" I yelled, falling to my knees.

"Sean! SEAN! Are you alright?" Allen yelled, still aiming at the darkness.

"Yeah. I'm fine." I said with a grunt, standing up.

"What was that?" Thomas asked, grabbing my Plasma Cutter off the floor and handing it to me.

"I don't know. It just…happened." I said, accepting the Plasma Cutter and putting it on my hip.

"Sean, that was fucking weird." Allen remarked, still trained on the darkness.

"Well, I don't know what to tell you. Now, why don't we try to find a way out of here?" I said, walking over to the other side of the room and starting a hack on the door.

While waiting for the program to work, Thomas found out one of the vents were torn open.

"This could be a problem." Allen remarked, chucking a grenade into the vent, letting it explode. "But no longer one for us."

The program finally finished, and the doors slid open, light blinding us. I switched off my night vision, looking around the corridor. It was completely deserted.

"Mortyr to Shadow, we have the weapons." I said into the communicator.

"Good job, Mortyr. Meet us at the bombsite." Shepard responded.

"Roger, over and out." I said, closing the line.

…

We wandered for a while, not encountering any resistance as we made our way to the bombsite. While wandering, a shockwave shook through the base, causing widows to shatter and things to fly off shelves.

"Where are all the Geth?" Thomas asked as we went through another door.

"Whoever released those Necromorphs must have assumed us dead and sent them after the others." Allen chimed in. "Speaking of which, we should blow those charges."

"Oh right!" I said, taking the detonator off my hip and pressing the button. A loud explosion was heard shortly afterwards.

"Did you want a large or small crater, sir?" Allen asked in a mocked voice.

"I'm guessing a large crater, six-two." I said in a fake British accent.

"You guessed correctly, three-eight." Allen replied, taking the detonator back.

We finally reached the site as Shepard arrived. She looked us over, eyebrows jumping up when she saw the blood that covered our armor.

"What happened to the three of you?" She asked, causing the others to turn. I heard Tali gasp.

"Long story." I said, shrugging. "I'll tell you later."

We waited for a minute as the Normandy came down for a landing. Ashley and another trooper brought the bomb off the ship, placing next to the main water treater.

"Alright Commander, we're ready to go." Ashe said, brushing off her hands. The comm suddenly lit up.

"Shepard, we're pinned down! We can't make it to the evacuation zone!" He yelled into the comm as an explosion was heard.

"Go get Kaidan, Shepard. I'll stay with the bomb." Ash said, taking her assault rifle off her back.

"We'll be right back." Shepard said running back towards the door we came from. We all followed. We made it as far as the purifiers, when we saw a Geth dropship descend on Ashley's position.

"Shepard, a whole mess of Geth are swarming my position!" Ash yelled as gunfire could be heard in the background.

"Hold on, Ash! We're coming back!" Shepard yelled.

"No! I'm making sure this bomb goes off! Get Kaidan and the Salarians out of here!" She yelled back.

"Save Ash, Commander!" Kaidan objected.

I saw Catherine visibly tense up, She knew she had to make a choice. We waited for ten seconds, when she chose.

"Joker, meet us at the bombsite." Shepard said, turning back towards the bombsite.

"Shepard-"Ash started as Shepard cut her off.

"That's an order, Williams." Shepard said. There was a pause, followed by an "aye aye."

"Kaidan, I'm sorry…" Shepard said quietly into the comm.

"It's alright, Commander. You had to make a choice. It was an honor serving with you, Catherine." Kaidan responded solemnly.

"Likewise, Kaidan." Shepard said as we walked into the elevator.

…

When we arrived back at the site, the three soldiers helping Ash guard the bomb were dead. Ash was crouched behind the bomb, taking potshots at the ten Geth in the reservoir. I ran to the nearest piece of cover I could find, taking the Force Gun off my back and blowing away two of the Geth with one shot. Thomas shot one of the Geth with his Seeker Rifle, blowing a hole strait though it's chest the size of someone's head. Allen blasted a juggernaut with his Contact Beam, causing it to explode into a shower of metal and fluid.

Everyone else was providing overlapping fire, taking down the other Geth with relative ease. Before anything else could happen, the Dropship flew away and Saren appeared on his little hover platform. Him and Shepard talked it up for a minute, when they attacked each other. What took me by surprise was his sudden focus on me. I fired on him with the Plasma Cutter, barely doing and harm to his shields. He lunged at me, grabbing me by my throat and lifting me off the ground. Everyone halted their fire, not wanting to hit me.

"I'm surprised you and your friends survived my little trap. I guess I'll just have to kill you myself." He said, staring into my eyes, even with the mask on. He tightened his grip on my throat, causing me to choke.

"There is no way you can save the galaxy, Prothean. Just die quietly." He said, looking deeper into my eyes. I started seeing spots, and my vision became blurry. Before I passed out, I heard a shot ring out, hitting Saren and causing him to shout in pain. The pressure on my neck disappeared, but not before I passed out.

…

Thomas's POV

"Sean!" I yelled as he fell to the ground in a heap. Saren ran away, jumping on his platform and leaving before we could stop him.

Tali and I were the first ones to reach Sean. I took the trauma kit off my leg and went over his vitals.

"We need to get him to Chakwas a quickly as possible!" I said franticly. Allen and I helped him into the ship as we flew off.

After getting Sean to Chakwas, Allen and I went back to our quarters. My mind was racing, thinking about what Saren said.

"_There is no way you can save the galaxy, Prothean_." I kept repeating in my head as I took off my armor.

"What was Saren talking about? He called Sean a Prothean. PROTHEAN." Allen said, interrupting my train of thought.

"I don't know. Maybe he saw what Sean did in that containment room, assuming something. I'm not sure." I said, truly having no idea what it meant.

"Do you think it ties into that dream we had?" Allen asked, rubbing the bottom of his chin.

"I don't know. I really don't know." I said, crashing on the couch. "Remember when Sean had his little "incident" in that room?"

"Yeah, who wouldn't? He single-handedly killed over a dozen of the most frightening creatures I have ever seen." Allen replied, grabbing a rag from his locker and wiping the blood off his armor.

"I'm assuming the Protheans did something to us when they brought us here. Maybe, they gave us powers or something." I replied, taking my visor off.

"Normally, I would say that's bat-shit crazy, but after what I saw in that dream…man, I don't know what to think." Allen said, sitting down at the terminal.

"I don't know. Maybe we should wait until Sean is up before talking about it anymore." I said, holding my head back.

"_There is no way you can save the galaxy, Prothean._" I kept thinking over and over again.

…

Sean's POV

It was dark again, like it was the first time. I wandered around in the darkness, unable to do anything. Then, there was a bright flash, blinding me. When I opened my eyes, I was now surrounded my light, so bright that I had to squint. Now, there was a low figure standing in the light. I walked towards it, recognizing it as the…Prothean I had talked to the first time.

"You have felt us for the first time, Sean. You have progressed well." The Prothean told me in a majestic voice.

"What did you do to me? Me and my friends?" I asked in a semi-angry, semi-curious tone.

"In order to survive the journey, we gave you and your friends some of our life force. It has infused you with some of our power. We have given you three a great gift." He answered.

"Back on Virmire, Saren called me a Prothean. How did he know that?" I asked in a demanding tone.

"The one called Saren has become deluded by the Reapers. He has most likely been monitoring the three of you ever since you stopped his assassins back on the Citadel." He responded. "Sovereign must be able to detect powerful vibrations in the dark energy."

"What does that mean?" I asked, curious as to what he meant.

"Every time we do something, it causes ripples in the dark matter surrounding all of us. The Reapers may be able to feel these vibrations." The Prothean replied blankly.

"Is that bad?" I asked.

"Well, every time you do something similar to what you did back in the lab, they will probably be able to sense it." He replied.

"So that's bad." I responded.

"Yes." He added dryly. "I must go now. All I can tell you is that you will meet three more people before your business with Saren is finished.

"What? Who?" I asked, surprised by the sudden announcement.

"You will figure that out when the time comes. Goodbye, Sean." The Prothean said, turning into a black mist and flying away.

"WAIT!" I yelled, but he was gone before I could do anything else.

…

I was almost instantly awake the moment the vision ended. All I could feel was the pain in my windpipe. I gagged as I took a deep breath, sitting up on the bed I was laying on.

"Oh, I see your awake." I heard a British voice tell me from across the room. "How do you feel?"

"I feel like someone make my throat the home to a million ants…and then burned it." I replied in a hoarse tone.

"Well, you were choked. That's to be expected, Sean." Chakwas responded in a dry tone.

"Wait, what happened after I passed out?" I asked, confused.

"You were taken onboard the Normandy, and brought here. We flew away, and the site was nuked. Kaidan died down there." She told me, getting real sad when she reached Kaidan.

I don't know why, but I suddenly felt really defeated. Kaidan is dead.

"Am I cleared to go?" I asked, holding my neck.

"Sure, just take it easy." She said, giving me some painkillers and sending me on my way.

"_God, I just let someone die. No, no, we all agreed on it, no, that's not right, no…_" I yelled in my head, walking back to my quarters. This was hitting me hard.

"God, I'm sorry…" I said to myself.

…

:Unknown: POV

For the last month, there was a mass search for Allen, Thomas, and Sean after they went missing. What's also weird is that their parents and pets were missing too, causing even more trouble. Me, John, and Sydney decided to sneak into Sean's house to try to find anything the Police overlooked since they couldn't come up with anything.

Sydney was a beautiful girl. She has short brown/red hair that always curled naturally. She loved reading Manga, but had it tough in school. John was shorter guy with blonde hair, and has a light Boston accent. He's been friends with me and Sean since Middle School, and loves to crack jokes all the time. I was slightly Asian, having brown hair and a love of computers. The three of us were friends of Sean, Allen, and Thomas for a few years, but they were always distant because the three of them loved video games. Still, we were good friends.

We looked around for a while, trying to find anything that could help. The entire house looked like it hadn't even been touched for the last month. We entered the basement, finding a small ball floating off the ground, changing colors.

"What is that?" Sydney asked, running her hands through her hair.

"I don't know. I've never seen anything like that before." I said, crouching next to it.

"What is that? Some kind of weird sex toy?" John asked, smiling.

"Your not funny, John." Sydney said, rubbing her forehead. "You think it's safe?"

"I don't know. What is safe nowadays?" I said, staring at the ball. "I'm going to touch it."

I carefully inched closer to the ball. The moment my index finder touched it, I fell to the ground screaming as every nerve on my body felt like they were on fire. I saw the same happen to Sydney and John. I blacked out from the pain shortly afterwards.

…

"Ugh…." I groaned weakly, getting on one knee. My vision was so blurry that I couldn't see a thing.

"Weigman? Is that you?" I heard John say.

"Yeah." I groaned out. "That you John?"

"Yep. Is this how it feels to be hung over?" He asked in a mocked tone.

"How the hell would I know?" I yelled, annoyed at John's persistence at making jokes.

"Can you see anything?" He asked.

"No, everything is blurry right now." He responded.

"Sydney? You here?" I asked out loud.

"Yeah." I heard her shout. "What happened?"

"I have no clue." I said, rubbing my eyes. My vision was improving.

I felt the ground. Instead of concrete, the floor felt like it was made of metal. I rubbed my eyes again, clearing my vision. I looked around, discovering that we were no longer in Sean's basement.

"Uhh…guys? I don't think we're in Maryland anymore." I said, standing up.

"What? What do you mean?" John asked, getting on one knee.

"What I mean is we aren't in Sean's basement anymore." I said, looking around.

The room appeared to be some sort of cell. There was a toilet, sink, and a door. The walls were made out of metal, same as the floor. There was a banging sound on the door.

"Quiet down in there!" I heard a distorted voice shout.

"What was that?" Sydney asked.

"Quiet down, before we come in there and make you quiet!" The voice repeated.

We shut our mouths, not wanting to provoke whoever had us here. We sat in silence for what felt like at least three hours.

"Where do you think we are?" Sydney whispered, scooting up next to me.

"I have no idea. All we can do is wait." I replied, curling up into a ball.

…

**Author's Notes: THERE YOU GO! :D I've been working on this for a while now! Hope you like it! So, new discoveries on the horizon, joined by new soon-to-be comrades in arms. Please vote on my profile what you would like to see happen to Weigman, Sydney, and John. This is GIR, signing out.**


	20. Hunter

**Author's Notes: Well, now that the big reveal has finally set in, time to initiate Secret Code Omega Delta. I will be using the ace I have been saving for a long time, MetalFluffyNinja's Hunter. He is a OC Quarian mercenary that I have received permission to use. Thanks, Fluffy!**

...

We laid in the the cell for hours, trying to figure out where we were. We had no idea what was going to happen to us if we ever got out of here. After who knows how many hours of waiting, we were taken out of our cell by these men with six black eyes and weird, crumpled faces. They put us in what I was assuming to be handcuffs.

"Get fucking moving!" One of them yelled at me. I promptly obeyed and marched.

We were led down several hallways, filled with more of those men, and other things I couldn't describe. It was all made out of metal, same as the cell. After reaching a much thicker door, we were led into what looked like a small warehouse. There were five more men there, three of which looked human. The other two had shell-like faces covered with paint. They all wore blue armor with a white insignia on the chest.

"Here are some specials, Nokeem." The creature who had led us told one of the men as we were placed on our knees. "Hope your ready to buy."

The man with a large rifle walked over, placing it on his back and looking over us.

"Where did you find them?" The man called Nokeem asked the creature.

"We found them unconscious on Omega. Real young ones too, all healthy." The creature answered, leaning down and running his hand through Sydney's hair. She visibly froze up in fear.

"How much do you want for them, Thoren?" Nokeem asked, crossing his arms.

"2,000 for the males, 3,000 for the female." Thoren said matter-of-factly.

"_Oh god, he's selling us into slavery._" I thought to myself.

"I'll give you 1,750 for the males. 2,000 for the female." Nokeem replied, crouching down next to the three of us.

The two men bargained for a few minutes, offering each other many different prices as we sat there, shivering in fear.

"OK, I'll settle for 1,900 for the males, 1,950 for the female." Nokeem said with finality.

"Alright, fine." Thoren said in a defeated tone. "But I expec-"

Thoren was cut off as his head exploded, showering brain matter and other things everywhere. Sydney screamed loudly when a chuck of his head landed on her. The people on both sides started shooting each other, confused and dazed by what happened. A small, cylindrical object landed next to one of the men, exploding in a blinding light. While I was stunned, I heard several more gunshots ring out, silencing the gunfire.

When my vision cleared, I saw all the men were dead, all filled with holes. A figure approach us, walking over the corpses, taking cards out of their pockets and putting them in his. He was of a thin build, wearing a tight blue/gray suit and a worn hood. He had a glass faceplate, obscuring his face.

"Give me your names." The man asked in a strange accent.

"Who are yo-" I started.

"Give me your names." He repeated, cutting me off.

"Um...my name is Weigman. He's John, she's Sydney." I said, looking at the two of them. The both looked scared and curious of him at the same time.

"Good. Your coming with me." He said, taking a small chip of the corpse off Thoren's corpse and waving it over our handcuffs. They unlocked after they detected the chip.

"Um...thank you." John said, holding his forehead.

"Listen, I don't get payed to be your friend. Just shut up and follow me closely." He said, handing us rifles and odd chip-like devices. I hefted the weapon, finding it surprisingly light.

"Can we at least know your name?" I asked firmly.

He looked at me for a few seconds. "The name's Hunter, and that's all you need to know." He said, turning around. "Now let's go."

"What are we going to do?" Sydney asked, fiddling with the device.

"We are going to get out of here." He said, ejecting something out of his gun. "One Batarian at a time."

"But none of us can fight!" I yelled. Hunter, looking at us with what I guessed was a confused expression, groaned loudly.

"So I got a mission protecting three children that can't do anything?" He said, sounding increasingly annoyed. "This better be worth the credits..."

…

Sean's POV

The three of us were sitting in our quarters, debating what occurred on Virmire. I told them about my dream, confirming a theory that Thomas had.

"Hey guys, what are we going to do?" Thomas asked, rubbing his hand together.

"About what?" I asked, looking away from my Omni-tool.

"About those weapons. Isn't the Council going to want them?" He answered, looking up and taking his Seeker Rifle out of the locker.

"Well everyone is on edge around here after what happened on Virmire. I really don't know." I answered, looking at the lockers.

"I hope we get to keep them." Allen chimed in, leaning back in his chair.

"Uh, guys? Shepard wants to see the three of you in the Briefing Room. Bring those weapons, too." Joker said over the intercom.

"Speak of the devil." I said to myself. "We'll be right there."

We grabbed our weapons and walked up to the CIC, greeting the guards and walking into the Briefing Room. Shepard was there, just finished with her report to the Council.

"Hey Shepard. Sorry about what happened down there." I said in a soft tone.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for. It was my call." Shepard said, spinning on her heel and looking at us. "Besides, you three did your job perfectly."

"Glad you liked it." Allen chimed in.

"Well, I just got finished with my report to the Council. They bitched me out about detonating that drive core on the planet, even though it wasn't my idea." She said, crashing on one of the chairs. "Sometimes I just feel like punching them in their smug, all-powerful faces. They had no idea what we went through down there."

"The Council has always been made up of idiots. Everyone in their right mind knows that." I said, balling my fist when I thought about what the Council was going to do to her when she died.

"Anyway, I wanted to check on the three of you. I want to hear that long story about the blood on your armor." She said, sitting up strait. "Care to tell me now?"

I let out a heavy sigh, sitting down on one of the chairs. "Sure."

For the next half an hour, the three of us went over what happened. Finding the weapons, the monsters, all that junk. We told her we managed to kill all of them in the interest of my safety.

"Are you sure you killed all of these creatures?" She asked as we finished.

"No, but which ever ones escaped were most likely killed when the bomb went off." I replied in a stern tone.

"Good. As far as the Council goes, those weapons never existed. Can I trust the three of you with them?" Shepard asked, looking at the weapons sitting at our feet.

"_Wow, she's actually going to let us keep them?_"

"Yes ma'am." The three of us replied in unison.

"Good. Now we should get to the Citadel in a few hours. Get some rest." She said, standing up.

"Sure thing, Shepard." I said, picking up my weapons and leaving the Briefing Room with Allen and Thomas.

The moment I got back to our quarters, I suddenly felt really tired.

"Hey guys, I'm gonna take a nap..." I said, falling into my bed. The moment my head hit the pillow, I was asleep.

…

Weigman's POV

After Hunter saved us, he led us through the ship we arrived on. He was really violent, killing his targets with two shots to the heart and one to the head. We mostly followed, watching him as he worked.

We eventually reached the bridge doors. He had us form up.

"OK, in there are a bunch of Batarians in the next room. When this door opens, I am going to toss a flashbang in there, blinding them. We will run in, gunning them down while their blind. OK?" He said, making sure we all heard it.

"I don't know if I can do this..." Sydney told him.

"Then stay here, woman." He said in a annoyed tone. "Let the men do the work."

"Excuse me?" She said loudly.

He ignored her, and started counting down.

"3...2...1...GO!" He yelled, opening the door and tossing a flashbang in the bridge, closing it back up again. When a loud BANG was heard, he opened the door again, letting us pour in and cut them down while they were blind. In a matter of seconds, the bridge was clear.

Hunter ran over to the main console, sealing the bridge and lifting off. He hit another button, causing a moan to vibrate through the hull.

"There, that should take care of the rest of the Batarians." He said with some satisfaction in his voice.

"What did you do?" I asked, looking over his shoulder.

"I spaced them." He replied calmly.

"What?" I said, not knowing what that meant.

"You know that stuff you breath? Oxygen? I just vented it into space, killing the Batarians. No oxygen, you die. Are all of you stupid?" He said, turning to the three of us. We didn't answer.

"Never mind." He said dryly.

I sat down in one of the chairs on the bridge, exhausted.

"So why did you save us?" I asked Hunter, causing him to turn around.

"I don't need to tell you anything." He said angrily.

"Come on. We have no idea whats going on, and your just going to keep us in the dark? How are we supposed to trust you?" John said, crashing in a chair next to me.

Hunter groaned, rubbing the top of his helmet. "Your not supposed to trust me." He replied. We all stared at him for a while, until he snapped.

"Fine. I was given a job to rescue the three of you. I have to watch you until you get picked up on the Citadel." He said, obviously not happy about the arrangement.

"Wait, who's picking us up?" Sydney asked, the events in the warehouse still fresh in her mind.

"I dunno. All the message said was that it should be someone you know." He replied dryly. We decided to accept his answer, but who do we know in this world?

"What are these weird chip thingies with the straps?" John asked, holding it in his fingers.

"Those are Omni-tools. You put them on your wrist." He said in a annoyed tone.

"What do they do?" I asked, strapping it onto my wrist.

"Figure it out on your own! I'm tried of explaining these simple things to the three of you!" He yelled in a defeated tone, turning around and going back to the console.

We decided to stop asking him questions. We were really pissing him off. We played around with these "Omni-tools" for a while, trying to figure out how to turn it on. I finally figured it out when I thought "on" to myself. It lit up, covering my arm with a holographic display. There were dozens of options. I spent a good amount of time doing through each one, finding out what they do and how they work.

"Alright, I'm pressurizing the hull. Follow this map and it will take you to the armory. Put on some armor and grab some weapons." Hunter said as our message boxes flashed. I opened it up, showing us a map.

We left the bridge, noticing how much colder it was. The walls were covered with frost. We walked around a corner, seeing a gruesome sight.

We all froze up when she saw a Batarian, dead, frozen, and twisted on the ground. His blood was frozen to the ground.

"Oh god..." John said, stepping carefully around the corpse. Sydney was in a daze.

"Come on, Sydney. We need to keep moving." I said, shaking her shoulder and snapping her out of her daze.

"Um...yeah. Let's go." She said, bringing the map back up and walking away from the corpse.

…

It took a while, but we finally found the Armory. Like the rest of the ship, it was covered in frost and there was a corpse on the ground. John and I moved it out of the room for the sake of Sydney.

"Eww...creepy..." John commented as we moved the body.

"Shut up, John." I said in a quiet tone.

We found a armor locker, pulling out three form fitting suits of armor. We got Hunter to turn the heater in the room on. After it warmed up, we started putting the armor on, which was a challenge. Putting the armor on wasn't the challenge, it was keeping my eyes away from Sydney while she put it on. I saw John was having the same problem as me.

When we were finished, we opened some of the racks. There were bristling with weapons. John took a assault rifle, pistol, and shotgun. Sydney took a shotgun and a pistol. I took a sniper rifle and a assault rifle. I looked at John and Sydney. I had to quickly avert my eyes away from Sydney. Her suit was very...form fitting. We all looked equipped to take on the Alamo.

"Are you almost finished down there? We're nearing the Citadel." Hunter said over the ship speakers.

"Yeah, we're coming." I said, opening the door and leaving the armory.

"_Time to meet whoever hired this guy..._"

…

Sean's POV

I let out a loud yawn as I sat up in my bed. We were about half and hour away from the Citadel from what my Omni-tool said.

"Jesus, it's about time. You snore so loudly it shakes the entire ship." Allen said from the console.

"Nice to see you too, Allen." I replied, getting out of bed. "Hey Thomas."

"Hey Sean." Thomas shot back.

"So...anything new happen?" I asked them.

"Nope." They both replied in unison.

"Well...OK then." I said, crashing on the couch. Only a minute after I sit down, my Omni-tool starts beeping.

"What is that?" Thomas ask, looking over at me

I open it up, seeing I had one new message. I opened it up, reading it out loud.

"Hello Sean, this is you benefactor. Your new friends will be waiting for you in the warehouse in the Zakera Ward, right next to the Sirta Foundation. Come with only Thomas and Allen. -Your Benefactors." I said, reading out the entire message.

"Benefactors? Friends? What the hell?" Allen said, getting off the computer and walking over to the couch.

"I guess this is what the Prothean meant." I said to myself.

"Can you trace the message?" Thomas asked, looking over my shoulder.

"No, it's using a anonymizer. I can't trace it." I said with a huff.

"Well, so much for our plans." Thomas said, walking over to his locker and taking his armor out.

"Who knows, guys? This might be interesting." I said, getting up and walking to my locker.

"_Who's life have you fucked with now, Prothean?_"

**Author's Notes: Once again, I would like to thank MetalFluffyNinja fpr letting me use her OC. Thanks, Fluffy. Hope you guys liked the chapter. I decided using the polls is nearly worthless because I make these too fast, so if anyone has any ideas, just message me. This is GIR, signing out.**


	21. Reunion

**Author's Notes: Ah, the whole plan is coming into place. (Evil laughter) ...Sorry, just loving the Revelation novel. I finally bought it. Bloody great piece of writing it is. Enjoy!**

…

Weigman's POV

We sat in a small shuttle that Hunter had stolen from the ship. The cockpit window was obscured by a purple haze. For the last hour, the three of us had gone over most of the basics of this place. Mass Relays, most species, weapons, and the major factions. It was a lot to take in at once.

"So what is this "Citadel" your taking us to?" John asked Hunter.

"If you wait you'll see." He replied in a huff.

We waited for another minute, when the purple haze finally started fading. What the three of us saw was amazing. We saw a gigantic structure, shining in nebula. It had five huge "arms" all connected to a large ring. Surrounding it where hundreds of ships, all microscopic compared to the structure.

"Welcome to the Citadel, hub of Council Space." Hunter said calmly, causing all of us to look at him.

"Wow! I've never seen anything like this in my life!" Sydney said excitedly, watching the ships we passed by.

I couldn't describe in words how awe-inspiring it was. John looked about the same way, eyes scanning the structure.

"If this is what amazing, why don't you three brush up on your codex before we land? I don't need you gawking at everything we walk by." Hunter said, sounding slightly annoyed. "Damn children."

"Sure." I said, sitting back down in my chair and opening my Omni-tool. About five minutes later, Hunter started taking us closer to one of the arms.

"Unknown Shuttle, please identify yourself." A man asked Hunter through the console.

"This is a private shuttle, registration number 525775. Requesting permission to dock at the Zakera Ward." Hunter read off from his Omni-tool calmly into the console.

"Roger, Shuttle 525775. You may dock at Port 11 on the Zakera Ward." Came the response a few seconds later.

Hunter cut off the comm, laughing to himself.

"Ha ha, get's them every single time." Hunter said to himself, leaning back in his seat.

We swooped in, taking in how huge this place was. There were thousands of shuttles moving at once. I couldn't imagine how they keep all those shuttles in order without them slamming into each other.

"So where are we going to meet these people?" I asked Hunter as we came in for our landing.

"We will be meeting this person in the warehouse on the lower level of the Zakera Ward. Just follow me." He said, unstrapping himself from the driver's seat.

"What should we expect?" John asked, closing his Omni-tool.

"Um...crowds? Businessmen? I don't know." Hunter said in a exhausted tone, grabbing his sniper rifle and pistol. "You know...what you would normally expect from a city?"

"Jeez, just checking." John replied, turning around and checking his boot.

Hunter walked over to the hatch, opening it. There was a surge of activity on the outside, crowds filled with all manners of species. We followed Hunter them for a while, making our way to the bottom levels of the Zakera Ward. On the bottom levels, there wasn't nearly as much activity as there were on the upper levels.

We walked into the warehouse, finding it to be really small.

"Alright, this is the meeting place. Now all we do is wait." Hunter said, sitting down on one of the crates. We did the same.

…

Sean's POV

"Allen, I'm telling you that's impossible. There is NO WAY Ghost could be Gaz!" I told Allen as we waited in the cockpit. We were docking with the Citadel.

"Whatever. I still think Ghost is Gaz." He replied, turning away.

"How could he be Gaz? He was shot right in the face at the end of Call of Duty 4!" I said, trying to prove him wrong.

"I have to agree with Sean, Allen." Thomas added. "He was shot in the face."

"Then how do you explain them having the same voice? " He said, turning back to us.

"Never mind. Joker, are we almost there?" I asked out loud.

"We'll be there in about one minute." Joker replied calmly.

"Good. We have work to do." I said, putting my helmet on. It sealed with a hiss.

"Scary helmet." Joker commented.

"Good. That's how it's supposed to be." I replied, feeling a cool sense of calm roll over me. God, I love this helmet.

It seemed no one else was really in the mood for shore leave. The only ones going out were Shepard and Wrex. We docked with the Citadel, walking back on the familiar platform.

"_Let's reach out and touch someone._"

…

When we left the C-Sec Academy, we hopped on a Rapid Transit shuttle and punched in the Zakera Wards. I looked out the window, taking in the sight of the Citadel once more. It really was beautiful. It's going to be so sad when this place is attacked by Sovereign.

We stopped at the markets, exactly where Shepard gets off in Mass Effect 2. I chuckled a bit at the irony. We walked through the checkpoint, into the crowds.

"Damn, this place is crowded." Allen remarked while we made our way through. There was a much bigger level of activity here than there was on the Presidium Ring.

We managed to make our way through to the bottom level of the Markets. There was that guy who sells ramen, those other two shops, and the door to the warehouse.

"Wait, guys. I'll go in first just in case." I said, stopping them with my hand.

"Alright, fine." Allen said, leaning against the walls.

"_Well, here we go._" I thought, walking through the two doors.

I walked through the door. There was a quarian with three other people. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw who they were.

"Weigman! Sydney! John!" I yelled, surprised to see the three of them.

"Um...who are you?" John asked, staring at me.

"Oh sorry! The helmet!" I said, taking it off. They had a look of utter surprise plastered on their faces.

"Sean!" Weigman yelled, seeming really happy for somebody so morbid. "How's it going?"

"Well, a few gunshots there, a few exploding faces there..." I said in a sly tone.

"Very funny." John said, walking over to me. I gave him a pat on the back.

"Wait, I'll be right back." I said, running out the two doors in a dash.

"You guys! You will not believe who it is!" I said in a frantic tone, surprising the two of them. "Come on!"

They ran in, seeing the trio waiting.

"So you two bozos are in this mess too?" Weigman asked, punching Allen lightly in the shoulder.

"Hey, I don't get a punch?" Thomas chirped up.

"Nah, I would be too afraid of breaking one of your bones." Weigman replied with a grin.

"Hey, I resent that!" He replied, punching Weigman in the shoulder.

"Wow, someone worked up some spunk while they were gone!" Weigman said, rubbing his shoulder.

"But seriously, it is nice to see someone familiar. God knows the situation at home isn't improving." John said, leaning on a crate.

"What? What's going on at home?" I asked, suddenly worried.

"When the three of you disappeared, there was a big search for you guys. The Police couldn't find a trace of you or your parents." Sydney said, causing the five of us to turn to her.

"Wait, did you say they couldn't find our parents, ether?" Allen asked, scratching his head.

"Yeah. The thing got so bad that they even sent the FBI up to us to investigate. It was all over the news. Everything." Sydney said, recalling the ordeal.

"That's not what I asked about. I asked if our parents are missing too." Allen repeated.

"Everyone was missing, Allen, even the pets. No one knew where you guys were." She said, sitting down on a crate. "So we broke into Sean's house to try and find anything."

"Instead, we ended up here, captured by Batarian slavers. We were going to be sold, when we were rescued by this guy called Hunter." John said, turning around and looking at the spot the quarian was a minute ago. "What the hell...where did he go?"

"Guess his job was done. He didn't seem to like us very much, anyway." Weigman commented, crossing his arms.

"Good riddance. Sexist." Sydney commented, crossing her arms.

We talked for a while about our experiences. I was horrified that they ended up in that situation when they first got here, and they had trouble believing they were in a video game. I had trouble looking at Sydney, though. Her outfit was nice in a...curvy way, kind of like the Chinese Stealth Suit from Fallout 3. Needless to say, she looked great.

We discussed for an hour what we were doing with Shepard, saving the galaxy and all that shit. They were surprised at what we were doing.

"Wait, so in the time you were gone, you three basically became badasses?" Weigman asked, giving us a grin that could kill.

"Yep, pretty much." Allen replied slyly.

"Order now and in one month, you will be 50% more badass, guaranteed or your money back!" John said in a mocked tone, causing all of us to stare at him.

"What?" John said, throwing his arms out.

"You need better jokes, John." I said, shaking my head.

"Oh, come on! What's wrong with my jokes?" He shouted, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Everything." I said, turning back to the group. "Besides, we have experience with this type of thing. Maybe not in real life, but we know what's going to happen."

"Have you tried changing anything?" Sydney asked, running her hand through her hair.

"No. Never. We have no idea what could happen to the story if we did that." I said in a reassuring tone. "Doesn't mean it's easy, though."

"Someone on our ship died on the last mission. It was hard, not being able to help him." Thomas said, eyes dropping to the floor.

"Wow, I'm sorry." Weigman said in a sympathetic tone.

"You didn't know. Don't be sorry." Thomas replied, looking back up.

An awkward silence fell over the six of us for a minute, when Allen spoke up.

"Um Sean? How are we going to get them on the Normandy? I don't think Shepard will like the idea of having more people on her ship. It's too suspicious." Allen said, causing my mind to surge.

"_Oh crap, I hadn't thought about that!_"

"Umm...I don't know..." I stammered, trying to think of something.

"I know! Lets buy them an apartment for them to live in! They can stay there until we're finished our mission!" Thomas chimed up.

"Thomas, you are a life saver. Guys, will you be OK here for a few more weeks?" I asked the three of them.

"It doesn't sound like a bad idea. You guys save the galaxy while we study the aspects of this world. Sounds good." Weigman agreed. "What do you think, guys?"

I think it's a great idea. It means I don't have to shoot people, right?" Sydney asked, face filled with energy.

"I would think so." Thomas replied.

"Great! I agree!" She said, a smile appearing on her face. "How about you, John?"

"I suppose so. It sounds kind of boring, though." He said, rolling his eyes.

"We'll buy you a luxury apartment." I said, turning on my Omni-tool. Everyone hovered with their Omni-tools, when Sydney squealed.

"What? What happened?" I said, looking away from my Omni-tool.

"Where in the world did I get this kind of money?" She said, staring at the digits on her display. She had 2,000,000 credits in her bank account. Weigman and John promptly opened up their accounts too.

"Hot damn. Who has this kind of money to throw away?" John asked, rubbing his eyes to confirm what he saw. "Jesus."

"Well, it looks like we're buying." Weigman said, a smile flickering across his face. "I think we can handle ourselves from here."

"Are you sure?" I said.

"Yeah. Don't worry. The next time you see us, we're going to buy a big ship, OK?" Weigman replied, closing his Omni-tool.

"Gotcha." I said, shaking his hand. "See you later, man."

"Bye, Sean." He said as the three of us left the warehouse.

"_See you three in a few months._"

**AN: Sorry about any sloppy writing. I've been out of the loop as of late. It's getting harder to think of any really good ideas. I've been thinking of maybe starting a new, crazy story to help rejuvenate myself. I've given up all hope of ever updating The Failed Transfers, partly due to the games being so simple. It's hard to write for something that has so little content. I'll keep the story up, but there will no longer be anymore updates. This is GIR, signing out.**


	22. Honorable Intentions

**Chapter 22**

After leaving the Zakera Wards, we took a shuttle back to the C-Sec Academy. We ran right into Wrex when we got there, being threatened by a couple of C-Sec officers.

"I'm serious, Wrex. If you try anything like that again, I will have to lock you up." One of the officers told Wrex, despite being a foot shorter than him.

"It wasn't my fault, and even if it was, I don't take orders from you." Wrex sneered, pushing past the officers towards us. "Sean."

"Wrex." I replied bluntly as we walked into the elevator. The officers who were threatening Wrex stared at me with a dumbfounded expression plastered on their faces.

"What's the matter? Never seen a human who's friends with a krogan before?" I said in a mocking tone as the door closed.

As the elevator started to move, that annoying music started playing again.

"Hey Wrex, what did you do to piss them off this time?" Allen asked, turning to Wrex.

"Some spineless turian pulled a gun on me when I walked into his store. I walked up and headbutted him." Wrex responded with some satisfaction in his voice. "Stupid turians."

"They brought you here just for that?" I asked, turning around. "The turian should be the one taking the heat, not you."

"Yeah, well he told them that I had threatened to "rob" him. They took his story." Wrex answered, voice dripping with annoyance.

"What assholes." Allen remarked as the elevator doors opened to the docks. We walked into the Normandy, seeing Shepard was already back, talking to Joker.

"Hello, Commander." I said, turning to face her.

"Hello." Shepard said, turning around to face us. "How was shore leave?"

"It was boring. Where are we going next?" I asked, letting the lie roll off as I took my helmet off .

"Going after a criminal that escaped Garrus in C-Sec. Some sick, twisted doctor who cloned organs inside of people." Shepard told me with a disgusted look on her face.

"Sounds like a sick bastard. Looking forward to the action." I replied, walking out of the cockpit and heading down the stairs to my room. I looked around, seeing that the mood was very dry around here.

"Hey Sean, Allen and I are gonna go add some upgrades to the Mako downstairs with Garrus. We'll be back in a few hours." Thomas said as he and Allen headed to the elevator.

"OK, sure. I'll be in the usual spot." I said as the elevator doors closed.

I walked into my quarters, opening my locker to put my helmet away, when I noticed a large gray case sitting inside.

"_What the hell is this?_" I thought, picking it up by the handle on the side. It was made out of some thick metal that weighed a ton. On the top was a thumbprint scanner.

Out of curiosity, I took off my glove and placed my thumb on the scanner. It beeped for a couple seconds, then unsealed with a loud hiss. I opened the lid, not believing my eyes. Right in front of me laid the BFG 9000 from Doom 3.

"_Oh my god. Where did this come from?_" I thought, hefting the weapon. It was much lighter than the case, feeling almost as light as assault rifle. There were 15 green energy cells in the case, all glowing with a light humming sound.

"Um, Sean? What is that?" I heard a familiar voice behind me ask. It was Tali.

"_Oh shit, I didn't even hear the door open. Dammit, what do I do..._" I thought franticly of something to say.

"Oh um, hi Tali. Just inspecting one of the weapons we got from Saren's lab on Virmire." I said as calmly as I could. "What do you need?"

"I was wondering if we could talk." She said, sitting down on the couch. She was still wearing that coat I had given her, bless her soul.

"Sure." I said, putting the BFG back in the case and setting it next to the couch. I calmly sat on the couch, taking off my other glove and setting it on the table. "What's up?"

"I was thinking. After all this business with Saren is finished, I...I want to take you to the Migrant Fleet to see my home, to meet my father." She said, fiddling with her fingers. "I also want you to see me without this helmet on when we get there."

"Whoa, are you sure Tali? Isn't that dangerous?" I said, eyebrows shooting up. I didn't want anything to happen to her for my sake.

"There are ways to reduce the risk. I can take some antibiotics, herbal supplements, things to help bolster my immune system but it's...it's just I'm sick of this suit being between us." She said, sounding like she was barely able to muster up the courage to tell me this. "I also want my father to meet the man who saved my life. He's quite interested in seeing you in person."

"He is? Your father, one of the most important people in the Conclave, wants to meet a human?" I said, surprised that he would want to meet me. I always thought he would frown upon her falling in love with a human.

"Yes, he want's to meet the man who saved his daughter." She replied. "So, you mind showing me some of these weapons?"

I thought about it for a minute, finally caving in. "Sure, just be careful with them."

I took out my Dead Space weapons, showing them to her. She looked like a child in a candy shop when I showed them to her.

"I like to call this one the Plasma Cutter. It fires three mass accelerator rounds at once, but still retains a high ammo capacity." I said, handing her my Plasma Cutter. "The barrels also have a ninety-degree spin."

"This is amazing." She said, aiming it at nothing in particular. "But why do you call it a Plasma Cutter?"

"I don't know. Just something that popped into my head." I said with a smile. "Seemed fitting."

"I see. Interesting name." She replied, spinning the barrel.

"Thanks. Oh! I almost forgot! I swiped two of them while I was there." I said, running back to my locker and grabbing the extra Plasma Cutter. "I want you to have this one."

"Oh Sean, I couldn't-"

"Please take it. It's the least I can do." I said, shaking the gun once more with a smile. She eventually accepted it.

"Thank you, Sean." She said, putting the Plasma Cutter on her hip.

"No problem. I like to call this one the Force Gun. It fires a large chunk of metal with extreme power, similar to the main gun on a large ship, causing what ever gets hit to become a pile of slag and sending out a shockwave powerful enough to blow any surrounding foes off their feet." I said, handing her the Force Gun.

"Wow." She said, standing up and hefting the Force Gun. "Shepard let you keep these?"

"Yep. She said as long as we keep them safe, we can keep them." I said, grinning as she held the weapon. She gets so giddy when she finds a piece of tech that interest her.

"And over here we have the Flamethrower. It uses compressed tanks of hydrogen to light anything you don't like on fire. An eyebrow's worst enemy." I said, last statement causing Tali to laugh.

"Very funny." She said, setting down the Force Gun and grabbing the Flamethrower. "Where do you get the fuel for this?"

"There are places to refill it scattered all over, but the best place would be Refueling Stations." I replied calmly as she aimed it.

"Nice. Now can you show me that big gun you had out earlier?" She asked, collapsing the Flamethrower.

"Uh...sure?"

…

Weigman's POV

The three of us spent a good three hours searching for a good house to buy. We settled for a large house in the Kithoi Ward. It has three bedrooms, a kitchen, two bathrooms and a huge living room. Buying it was relatively easy, much easier than the three-month bullshit you had to go through back home. We walked into our new home, taking in the atmosphere.

"Wow, this place is huge." John commented, walking into the living room.

"Welcome home." I said to myself, crashing on the couch. I took all the weapons off my back, setting them on the coffee table. "Hell of a day, huh?"

"I don't know about you two, but I need to take a shower." Sydney said, walking towards one of the bathrooms. "See you guys later."

"Bye Sydney." I said, throwing my feet up. I checked my Omni-tool for anything else. Nothing.

"I need some sleep, Weigman. See ya." John said, walking to one of the rooms.

"Bye." I said, shutting off my Omni-tool. I laid my head back, shutting my eyes.

"_Tough life ahead of us. I hope Sean, Allen and Thomas survive to tell the tale._" I thought as I fell asleep.

…

Sean's POV

"I like to call this one the BFG 9000. From what I've been able to figure out, it's a focused energy weapon capable of incredible power." I said, opening the case back up and hefting the BFG. Tali started fidgeting when she saw it.

"Oh wow!" She said as I gave her the weapon. "This is an incredible piece of tech!"

"Yeah well, I still haven't used it. All I know is that if you charge it for too long, it could explode in your hands." I said, grabbing one of the plasma cells out of the case.

"How are you supposed to restock on ammunition for this?" She asked, looking at the cell in my hand.

I stared at the cell for a while, looking back at Tali. "I don't know. I really have no idea. I am going to save it for bad situations."

"Oh, so things like Geth Armatures?" She asked, putting a lot of emphasis behind her statement.

"Very funny, but yes." I said, putting the cell back into the case. Tali gave me the BFG and I put it back in it's case. "Don't worry. I promise I will never do anything like that again."

"You better not, or else you'll have me to deal with." She said, making a fist.

"Good point." I said, rubbing my neck. "So...you wanna watch a movie or something?"

"Sure, that sounds fun." She said, sitting down on the couch.

"Awesome. What do you want to watch?" I asked, opening up my Omni-tool.

"You choose something. Surprise me." She said.

"Aright...ah! Here we go!" I said, renting Ferris Buller's Day Off. "This movie is from the 1980's back on Earth. It's a teen comedy about a teenager called Ferris Buller skipping school, and all the antics that ensue afterwards.

And with that, I projected the movie to the screen in the room and dimmed the lights.

"_God, it's been two years since I have seen this._" I thought as it started.

…

Weigman's POV

I woke up about six hours later. It turns out falling asleep in armor wasn't the best idea, because now my entire body felt like it had been frozen and thawed the wrong way.

"Oww...dammit." I said, holding my side as I tried to move trough the pain.

"Nice to see you up finally." Sydney said from an armchair across from the couch. She was wearing some skintight clothing similar to what we've seen other people wearing here. It had a beautiful flowing design on it, shining a brilliant blue.

"Hi Sydney." I said in a half-grunt, standing up and stretching. "Damn, that really hurts..."

"Go find some "Space Aspirin" or something if your hurting that much." She told me in a sarcastic tone. "Big baby."

"Fall asleep in **your** armor and **then** try calling me a crybaby." I said, rolling my neck around.

"I rather not, and it's **your** fault you didn't take off your armor." She said, looking at me then back to her Omni-tool.

"_Damn, she got me there._"

"Yeah, whatever." I said, looking out into space. "What are you working on over there, anyway?"

"I'm reading up on medical stuff. I figured since I'm not to good with weapons, perhaps I could train to be a medic." She said, not bothering to look at me while she looked through whatever she was reading.

"Becoming a medic doesn't mean you don't have to shoot things." I said, walking over to the kitchen. "You should at lease carry a pistol or rifle or something."

"Good point." She replied, eyes lighting up. "Have you heard about this stuff called Medi-gel? It's amazing!"

"No, what is it?" I asked, walking back over and sitting on the couch.

"It's a highly advanced medical adhesive that bonds to a person's skin and can seal almost any wound, releasing sedatives to help dull the pain as well." She said, reading through the description at a lightning fast rate.

"Wow. So basically it's a miracle drug?" I said, crossing my legs.

"It's not a drug, it's a multi-use medical gel." She corrected me.

"You know what I mean." I said, looking around the house. "Hey, where's John?"

"He went for a walk. Said he wanted to explore." She answered, scrolling down the page as she read it's contents with unrivaled speed.

I opened up my Omni-tool, calling John. After a few seconds, he answered.

"Hey man, what's up?" John asked on the other end. I could hear the constant din of the crowds through his side of the line.

"Nothing much. Just sitting around. Sydney is here studying medicine or something." I said, looking over to Sydney. She didn't even hear me she's so absorbed in her studies. Bookworm.

"Did you see that outfit she's wearing?" He asked in a suggestive tone.

I looked over at Sydney again, looking at her dress. "Yeah. I like it. So what are you doing?"

"I'm in the markets, browsing. There is some crazy shit down here." He said, sounding excited. "I found a really awesome body shop here that customizes armor for you. I'm having this sweet paint job done right now."

"Cool. Where is it?" I asked, standing up.

"It's near the end of the markets. The place is called Saratoga Innovations, big sign, can't miss it." He said, stopping really quickly. "I gotta go. See you in a bit, man."

He cut the connection, closing the line. I took my assault rifle off the table and placed it on my back, walking towards the door.

"I'll be back in a while." I said, opening the door.

"Be careful out there." Sydney said as the door closed.

…

Sean's POV

"HA HA HA!"

Tali and I were breaking up from laughter as we finished watching Ferris Buller's Day Off. We had just gotten done watching it.

"Wow." Tali said, gasping for breath. "That was funny!"

"I'm glad you liked it! I didn't think you would like something so old." I said, stretching my arms.

She giggled. "I loved the part where Cameron pretends to be Sloan's father. Mr. Rooney looked like he was going to pass out!" She said, cracking up. "Ah...Sean?"

"Yeah, Tali?" I said, spinning around to face her.

"Thank you." She said, looking me in the eyes.

"Thank you for what?" I asked.

"Everything." She said, wrapping her arms around me and giving me a hug. "I love you, Sean."

"I love you too, Tali." I responded passionately, embracing her for as long as I could. While hugging her, the dream I had two days ago flashed in my skull, shaking me to the core. I looked at her with a fierce determination.

"_I love you, Tali. So much. I will do everything to protect you, even if it means my life._" I vowed silently to myself. "_I will protect you until the end._"

…

Illusive Man's POV

Jack Harper, or the Illusive Man as he was more commonly known as, was looking through the various reports in his office. He took another drag from is cigarette when he saw the report that his base on Nepheron had been destroyed. This annoyed him. Shepard has been destroying a lot of expensive hardware as of late, and it was starting to get to him.

He looked through the security footage, watching Shepard and her team move through his facilities with great efficiency. He noticed that while Shepard was taking down Outpost Alpha on Binthu, there was another team of three people taking down Outpost Theta, blasting some hundred-year old music from their Omni-tools.

Out of curiosity, He decided to run a facial scan on the three of them. After five minutes, the scanners turned up nothing. This surprised him. Every person in the galaxy is tagged into the system when they are born, but he could not find anything on these three, despite having the best hardware in existence.

"_Interesting. Very interesting_." He thought, taking a sip of liquor from his glass.

They had pinged his interest. He would be watching them.

...

**A/N: Well, things are moving along nicely so far. We're almost finished moving in, so I may start writing like I used to. One problem: I am dying for new ideas, so I will be working on the super crossover I had been thinking about starting. It will not be released for a while, but there will be a poll for which game it is mainly set in. If nobody votes, it will take place in Mass Effect. The poll will be up for a month. Please take the time to choose.**

**A/N 2: People may be wondering about what I plan to do after the events of ME1. I plan on doing something similar to what iNf3ctioNZ is doing with his story. There will be an intermission story covering what happens to the gang in the two years before Shepard comes back to life. I will do things that will surprise you, don't worry. I plan to do some funky stuff after I'm unhinged from the ME1 storyline. And for those wondering, my Uncle has not been forgotten about. He will end up playing a nice part in the story.**

**This is GIR, signing out.**


	23. Settling In

I walked around the markets, making my way through the crowds at the fastest pace I could. I finally came across John in front of Saratoga Innovations.

"_Jesus, this place is huge._"

"Yo Weigman!" He shouted, waving me over.

"What's up, John?" I asked, running over to him.

"My paint job should be finished in a few minutes. I can't wait." He said, rubbing his hands together in excitement.

"This must be a heck of a paint job for you to be so excited." I said, smiling and crossing my arms.

"Just wait until you see it! It's awesome!" He replied, rubbing his hands together even harder. "You should go have yours done, get it customized!"

"Sure, maybe after yours is finished. How much are you paying for thi-" I said as a loud band resonated through the markets, causing several people to scream and run away.

John and I turned to the source of the sound, seeing a turian standing over a human with a pistol. The human screamed, clutching a large bullet wound on his side, bleeding badly. The turian then shot the human three more times, causing the screaming to stop. As the human bled to death, the turian tossed the gun and ran away towards the transport hub.

We and several other people ran over to the human, seeing he was long gone.

"By the goddess, he's dead!" An asari woman yelled, covering her mouth and turning away.

"Jesus." I said, crouching down next to the human. "Why would anyone do this?"

He had been shot in the backside twice, and two more times in the chest.

"C-Sec! Everyone back away!" A turian yelled, waving us away. He looked at the corpse. "Spirits...I need officers down here in the Kithoi Ward markets, Sector 11! There has been a shooting down here!"

"Hey um...Officer? I saw what happened. Is there anything I can do to help?" I asked, causing the turian to turn around.

"If you want to help, make a statement when Homicide gets here." He replied quickly, turning back to the body.

"Sure." I said, walking over to a bench and sitting down. John sat next to me, giving me a look.

"What are you going?" He asked silently.

"Helping out." I replied, folding my hands.

…

Sean's POV

"WHAT?" Allen yelled after I told him about the BFG I had received.

"It's true! I found it in my locker, sealed up in this case!" I said, hefting the heavy case. I opened the case, taking out the BFG.

"Wow. You know I never finished Doom 3, right?" Thomas said, causing me to quickly turn around.

"Thomas, I am going to kill you..." I said, looking up at the ceiling.

"Well hey, I'm sorry. Didn't like it all that much." He said, shrugging.

"You didn't like it? Everybody liked Doom 3! Everybody!" I said, exhausted by Thomas's stupidity.

Allen didn't bother saying anything. He just took the gun out of my hands while I wasn't looking, looking at it with great focus.

"Hey!" I shouted, grabbing at the gun. He ducked over to prevent me from getting it.

"Relax! I just wanna look at it!" He said, holing one hand up.

"Looking doesn't mean touching, now hand it over!" I said, holding out my hand.

"Fine, here you go." He said, relinquishing the BFG. "Big baby."

"I'll be the one in charge of the Big Fucking Gun, alright?" I said, placing it in the case.

"Sure, fine. Just don't blow all the ammunition on small things, alright?" Allen remarked.

"I didn't plan on it." I said, placing it in my locker. "Anyway, what were you two doing down there? You were gone for almost four hours."

"We bought some accelerator coils for the Mako's main gun to give it a bigger punch, along with some better heat sinks for the machine gun." Allen said, falling on the couch. "Even with Garrus's help, it was bloody difficult to configure them when installed."

"How difficult?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Imagine trying to install video driver software on you computer while you can't use the screen." Thomas remarked. "It wasn't easy."

"Cool." I said, checking my Omni-tool for any messages. There was a mountain of spam to clear through. I sighed mentally.

"How much longer till' we reach Dr. Heart's ship?" Allen asked Thomas.

"About two more hours." He said, checking the time on his Omni-tool.

"Damn. We were down there four hours straight?" He asked, clutching his forehead.

"Yep." Thomas responded dryly.

"Shit...I need some Advil or something..." Allen replied, clutching his forehead tighter.

"Ha ha." I said, not bothering to look up while I marked more messages as spam.

"_Asari Mind Meld Nerve Simulator?_" I thought, marking it as spam. "_What the fuck is wrong with the world?_"

"Shut up, Sean." Allen said, getting up and walking out of the room.

"U mad, bro?" I asked as the doors closed.

"Shut UP!" He yelled once more.

…

Weigman's POV

John and I waited for a few minutes. More C-Sec had arrived, setting up a perimeter around the body. Another cruiser devoid of any C-Sec markings dropped down near the scene. A man with blond hair and a slender build stepped out, speaking to one of the C-Sec officers. He then turned his attention to me. He walked over, presenting his badge.

"Detective Ian Shaw, Homicide. Can you tell me what you saw?" He asked in a British accent, taking out a datapad.

"Well, my friend and I were waiting outside of Saratoga over there, when we heard a gunshot. We turned around, seeing a turian with a gun standing over a human he had just shot. The human screamed, and then the turian shot him three more times. The turian tossed the gun and ran towards the transport hub." I said, recalling the events in mt head.

"Where did the gun land?" He asked, giving me a quizzing look.

"I don't really know. I was focused on the body." I said, holding my forehead.

"Alright, what did the turian look like? Did he have any unique markings on his face?" Ian asked, staring me in the eye.

"Um...he had green markings on his mandibles, right here going down." I said, gesturing on my face. "His fringe was a dark blue as well. Oh, he was also wearing red armor!"

Ian worked on his datapad, entering everything I had said. "Thank you. You can go now."

"Your welcome, detective." I said, standing up and walking back towards Saratoga Innovations. John was standing inside wearing his new armor. On each section of the armor, it started red and faded to black as it went down.

"Damn..." I said, crossing my arms.

"I told you that you would like it." He said, smirking.

"Well you were right!" I said, walking over to the counter. The inside of the store was a mess of electronics and armor, organized chaos. "Wow."

"I know, right?" John said, urging me towards the counter. Come on, pick out something!"

I looked around at the paint jobs they offered, noticing they accepted custom jobs as well. That gave me and idea.

"Hey sir, I would like something custom." I told the salarian behind the counter. He turned around, interest in his eyes.

"Sure, what did you have in mind?" He said, leaning on the counter.

"I would like to have a pitch black color. The chest piece will have a green swirl in it, fading into the black." I said, drawing a swirl with my finger on my breastplate. "Can I have a hood attached to it as well? Pitch black?"

"I think I see what your saying, sure. You can go into that booth over there and get out of your armor. The price will be around 1500 credits He said causing my head to spin. "If I didn't do what you intended, the job's free."

..

"Sure, that sounds good. Be back in a minute." I said, walking over to the changing booth. I stepped inside, taking about five minutes to get out of my suit.

"_Good thing I wore my street clothes under my armor._" I thought to myself.

I walked out, suit in hand, setting it on the counter. "There you go, sir."

The salarian looked at my clothes for a bit, looking back up at me. "Thank you. It should be finished by tomorrow."

"Good. See you at the crack of dawn." I said, confusing the salarian. John and I walked out, seeing a crowd had gathered around the C-Sec perimeter.

"Come on. Let's get out of here before they ask more questions." John said, nudging me with his elbow.

And with that, we left the markets and headed back home.

Home. Here. In space, land of murder and slavery. What could possibly go wrong?

…

Sean's POV

Catherine decided not to take us on this mission, taking Garrus and Wrex onto the good doctor's ship to find him.

"Hey Thomas, whatcha workin' on over there?" I asked, looking over at the terminal he was on.

"Playing some Medal Of Honor: Allied Assault." He responded, not bothering to turn around.

"That old game works on that?" I asked, smirking.

"It's an HD remake." He replied.

"Holy shit, really?" I said, jumping up and running over to the console. Sure enough, Thomas was storming Omaha Beach while getting shot by MG-42s.

"Wow. Can I play?" I asked, focused on the screen.

"Later." He said, pushing me away. "This part is difficult enough without you hovering over me."

"Fine, if your gonna be like that." I said, plopping myself back onto the couch. I opened my Omni-tool, checking for any new messages. As luck would have it, I had one from Weigman.

I opened it up, reading it out loud.

"Sean, we have found a nice place here on the Citadel. As far as the basics go, Sydney suddenly has some obsession with becoming a medic, and John and I are having paint jobs done for our armor. Hoping you guys survive out there, Weigman."

"Well, they sound like their having a nice time." He remarked, getting killed again. "But why does Sydney want to be a medic?"

"How am I supposed to know that?" I said, glaring at him. "I'm not physic."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." He said, turning back to the console.

I started writing a reply, when Shepard, Garrus, and Wrex returned from the ship. Garrus, for some odd reason, decided to come here.

"Hey Garrus! So how'd your mission go?" I asked in a friendly tone.

"You know, Shepard is confusing. I found Dr. Saleon, completely at my mercy, but I still couldn't kill him. Shepard, even after I told her about what he did, still insisted we take him in." Garrus said in a exhausted tone. "Why did she do that? I should have killed the bastard there."

"Everyone has morals, Garrus. Even after everything he had done, killing an unarmed person is still not something you do, Garrus." I said, trying to calm him down.

"Hmph, maybe your right." He said, clicking his mandibles together. "In the end, when he was there, I just couldn't do it." He said, staring at the ground and shaking his head.

"Shepard was just trying to teach you that solving a problem doesn't always mean shooting it is the solution." Thomas said, looking away from the console. "It's better for your conscious."

"Yeah, I see your point." Garrus said, crashing onto the armchair. "You want to play something? I'd like to clear my head."

"Sure. What do you want to play?" I asked, going through the list of games I had downloaded.

"How about some Grim Terminus Alliance?" He said, looking up.

"Sure. Wanna be the good or bad cop?" I asked, loading the game on the main screen.

"Good cop." He said almost immediately.

"Fine. Being the bad cop is more fun anyway." I said, loading up my profile.

…

Weigman's POV

"That is absolutely perfect!" I said, looking at my new armor. It had the green swirl, the black sheen, and the hood. "Thank you!"

"Glad you like it." The salarian told me, processing my money. He turned to Sydney, who had bee n waiting quietly. "Now what would you like?"

Sydney was busy pulling images from her Omni-tool, trying to decide what to get. She took about three centuries, but she finally chose something.

"I would like a paint job similar to this outfit." She started as I walked out the front door to wait. John was waiting there, arms crossed.

"Nice, man!" John said, looking me over.

"I know, right?" I said, putting my hood on. The hood was attached to the back of the armor, but it also hung down. Similar to a cape, but not as nerdy. "It cost me a lot of money, too."

"It looks like money well spent." He remarked, running his hands through his hair. "I should have gotten something custom."

"Nah, it fits you in my opinion." I said, giving him a thumbs up.

Sydney walked out of the store, wearing her street clothes.

"Well, it's going to take a few hours. What should we do?" She asked, looking at both of us.

"How bout' we go explore for a while? Take in the sights?" John said, rubbing his chin. "It's not like we have anything better to do."

"Sure, that sounds like a plan." I replied, pulling the tuff of the hood over my eyes.

…

**A/N: Sorry for the filler chapter. Writer's block has been trying to smash my skull with a sledgehammer. I'll try to get some action into the next chapter, but I may start working on the super-crossover this Monday. Please come and vote on which game you want it to take place in before it closes!**

**A/N 2: Anyone who reads my story most likely saw the obvious cameo from iNf3ctioNZ's Ian Shaw. Thanks for the inspiration, man!**


	24. Feros Pt1

**A/N: These are not the actual life stories of my friends. They are dramatized for the purposes of the story. As for the super-crossover, I will be taking place in Mass Effect. NOT BIG SURPRISE. Good news, though. The two other things that were voted for will occur before it gets to Mass Effect.**

…

Sean's POV

"So, we're going to Feros." Thomas said as we walked back to our quarters. "And so nears the end of our journey."

Shepard had just us briefed on our next big mission. We were finally going to Feros, our last stop before all hell breaks loose.

"Don't get too complacent, Thomas." Allen said, bumping Thomas's shoulder. "We still have a ways to go."

"I know, it's just...I like being here." Thomas replied as we walked into our quarters. "It's going to be really depressing what happens the month after Shepard kills Saren."

"**If** we survive that long." I added, sitting on the edge of my bed. "We have no idea what could change."

"Well, things seen to have stayed normal enough." He replied, sitting in the armchair next to the window. "I mean, it's not like we have to deal with underwater cities or hidden-blade assassins."

"That may be true, but that doesn't mean **WE **are included in this equation too, Thomas." I said, crossing my arms. "We could die and the others would most likely move on."

"Wait...but don't we have Prothean guardian angels watching over us?" Allen asked, scratching his head.

"Hmm...I guess your right about that." I said, tapping my chin.

I opened my Omni-tool, checking my mail. There was another mountain of spam in my inbox.

"Dammit." I said, marking things as junk as fast as possible. "My old Yahoo e-mail had a better spam filter that this."

I sat there, marking items as spam like a robot. I finished cleaning it out in about ten minutes. After I had finished with that, I jumped on YouTube to check my subscriptions. There was nothing.

"_Man, this is a slow day._" I thought to myself, falling on my bed with my arms out. "_I think I'm actually looking forward to being on Feros._"

…

Weigman's POV

I laid in bed, unable to sleep. I kept thinking about home. Mom, Dad, my brother, they were gone. I was never going to see them again. The thought alone brought a tear to my eye.

"_I miss them._"

Sydney and John didn't really seem to mind that much that their families were gone, and with some good reason.

Sydney's family was a mess. Her mother died two years after she was born and her father was a drunk that got violent way too easily. He often tried to hit her when he was drunk. It's why she became such a bookwork. It kept her away from her father, spending countless amounts of time in the library. Ironically, that's where we met her.

John's family wasn't nearly as crazy, but it still wasn't good. His parents were always away on business trips or whatnot, never really spending much time with him. He never really had much of a connection to them. They had this big house in Boston that was three stories high that John spent most of his time watching TV in until he moved to Maryland.

They seem to really like it here, and I can't blame them. Out here, they are free from the troubles back home, and are with their friends. I like it here too, but I wish my parents were here too. I wish they could see all the amazing stuff this world has to offer.

I rolled around once more, trying to fall asleep with no avail. "_Dammit, why is it so hard to sleep?_"

Sean, Allen, and Thomas. They seemed to love it here, being in the world of a video game. I do admire their devotion to video games. While everyone in school ridiculed them for even liking them, they played away, ignoring the haters like the plague.

I shut my eyes, rolling over again. I slowly fell asleep at last.

…

I woke up around 9:00 in the morning, having rolled my blanket around myself as a slept. I make my way out of bed, throwing on my jeans and hoodie. I checked my inbox, seeing there was nothing to report. I sighed, walking out of the room.

John was sitting on the couch, watching the news. There was something that murder yesterday and more stuff about Commander Catherine Shepard, the first human Spectre.

"Heh, the news hasn't really changed all that much in the future, has it?" I said, walking over to the fridge and pouring myself some milk.

"Yeah, it's all the same bullshit. Politics and murder." He replied, folding his hands behind his head. "Some things never change."

"Kinda like beating a dead horse, huh?" I said, walking behind the couch.

I took a gulp of my milk, gagging when I tasted it.

"YUCK!" I yelled. "What the hell is this?"

I walked back over to the fridge, taking out the milk. The expiration date was good, what was wrong with it? I looked at the label on the back. I looked normal, except for a label that said said "Dextro-Amino Acids."

"Aw shit..." I said, covering my mouth. I started feeling queasy as my stomach felt like it was burning.

John asked what was wrong as I ran to the bathroom. I opened the seat, vomiting into the toilet. I felt my head spinning as everything that was left in my stomach emptied into the toilet.

"Weig! WEIG! What happened?" John yelled, running to the doorway.

I kept vomiting, feeling my throat burn. After I felt the burn die down, I propped myself on the side of the bathtub, wheezing.

"Hey, are you OK?" John asked, patting me on the back.

"Yeah...I'll be fine..." I said, rubbing my stomach. "Who bought that milk?"

"Um...I bought it." He answered nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry about that."

"Sorry? Sorry? I nearly died drinking that shit!" I yelled, banging the side of the tub with my fist.

"Look, I'm sorry! I'm new to this stuff!" John said in a desperate tone. "If it helps. I'll give you the rest of my pizza. I owe you that much."

I thought about it for a minute, then I agreed. "Fine, but if this happens again, It'll take more than leftover pizza to calm me down."

…

Sean's POV

"Everybody ready?" Shepard asked as we docked with Zhu's Hope. All of us were gathered in the cockpit, waiting.

A string of mummers answered her as we all took out our favorite weapon. Tali took out the Plasma Cutter I had given her, while I took out mine. There was a loud thump as the magnetic clamps connected with the Normandy, locking us into the dock.

We made our way out of the Normandy out onto the gray dock. There were bits of rubble dotting the area, old and new. There was a man waiting on the far side of the dock. We walked over to see him

"We saw your ship. Fai Dan wants to speak with you immediately." The man asked in a dense tone.

"What's so important that he needs to see me right away?" Shepard asked with a questioning look on her face.

"The Geth are making another push. Fai Dan is preparing our defenses, but he needs your help." He replied tersely. "Please up the stairs, past the freighter."

Just then, his back exploded when a Geth carnage shot hit the man, blowing apart his back. We all took cover, poking out of cover to take shots at the Geth that started pouring into the dock.

I fired my Plasma Cutter at one Geth, blowing off one of it's arms. Wrex stormed up, blowing it away with his shotgun. I moved up, launching a Overload at a Rocket Trooper, causing it to collapse, sputtering sparks. Allen fired his Contact Beam, blowing apart the Geth and the cover they were using.

We eventually killed all the Geth, moving into the tower. We crossed a bridge, moving into a large stairwell. We killed another on of those Geth Hoppers, taking it down with relative ease before it could even fire a shot.

Eventually, we made it to the colony, where we met Fai Dan. Shepard went over to talk to him, while the rest of us waited,

I looked around at the battered colony. There were blast marks all over the place, old and new. I wondered why anyone would possible want to start a colony on this god-forsaken planet. Before I knew it, I heard more rounds buzz through the air, causing me to instinctively jump to the nearest piece of cover I could find.

"There are more Geth coming out of the tower!" Fai Dan yelled, hiding behind a chunk of stone. "You need to find the breach and stop them!"

I moved up, taking out my Force Gun. I popped put of cover, blowing away the Geth that were in the doorway. The group moved into the tower, going up the stairs. We were too late to save one group hiding behind more rubble at the top, being blown apart by a Rocket Trooper's missile the moment we saw them. I mentally sweared as a bit of one of the men landed on me.

I peeked around the doorway at the top of the stairs, seeing there was a whole mess of Geth in the hallway, at least ten or twelve. We all mowed them down in a group formation, making our way to the breach.

In the open area, there were at least twenty Geth underneath the hovering dropship, five of them being Primes. We all took cover as a barrage of bullets chipped away at our cover. The others tried taking potshots at them, but at lease one bullet would graze them.

"Well, now's about as good a time as any!" I yelled, taking the BFG off my back. "Everyone keep your heads down!"

I charged up the BFG to it's maximum potential, firing it towards the dropship. There was a loud humming sound, accompanied by a loud explosion afterwards. I opened my eyes, looking around my cover. The entire area was covered in ash, and the Geth were reduced to pieces, scattered all over the place. The dropship, which was now sputtering flames, flew away.

I started laughing hysterically. The others just stared at the wreckage.

"Spirits..." Garrus commented, looking back at me. "What did you do?"

"What didn't I do?" I said, smiling under my helmet. "I just sent over twenty Geth back to the scrap heap!"

They stared at it a little longer, when Shepard finally spoke up.

"Well...the tower's clear now. Good work everybody." She said, turning around and walking out of the room. "We should get back to Fai Dan."

"Sure." Ash replied almost immediately, following her. I laughed again.

We all left promptly afterwards, Wrex leaving last.

"That was impressive, Sean." Wrex complemented me, patting me HARD on my shoulder.

"Um...thanks." I said, rubbing my shoulder.

…

Sydney's POV

"Alright, what happened here?" I asked, looking at all the milk on the floor. I had just gotten back from Saratoga with my new armor to see milk all over the floor.

"Um...Weigman accidentally drank some Dextro-Amino milk. There was a bit of an incident." John replied, walking back to the kitchen with some sort of cleaning machine. "He have a very violent reaction to it."

"Is he alright?" I asked, suddenly worried.

"Yeah, he's fine. He's lying down in his room right now." He said, starting up the machine. "I'll let him fill you in when he wakes up."

"Alright..." I said, sitting down on the couch. I admired my new armor. It was similar to Sakura's outfit from the original Naruto, except for the large white X on the breastplate that I requested. I also had a portable Medi-Gel dispenser installed on my back. It was expensive, but hopefully it will be worth the cost.

"Nice design, Sydney." John said, cleaning the milk off the floor. "What's that on your back?"

"It's a Medi-Gel dispenser." I said, turning on my Omni-tool. "Just to be safe."

"That thing looks like a powerhouse. How many pretty nickels did you spend for that?" John asked, emptying the cleaning machine.

"10,000 credits." I replied, causing John to turn around quickly.

"10,000 credits?" He said in a semi-yell. "Jesus Christ!"

I rolled my eyes, ignoring him. I opened the medical files I had been reading earlier. The next section was titled "Head Injuries."

"Why are you so focused on this?" John asked, plopping himself down next to me with a soda.

"I figured since I'm not good with guns, I'll try to learn some medicine." I replied, not bothering to look at him. "At least try to be useful."

"Come on. There's got to be more to it than that." John responded, poking me with is elbow.

I ignored him, reading the files.

"Bookworm." He said, giving up and turning the TV on.

…

**A/N 2: Finally got to test out the BFG this chapter. Sorry for any repetitiveness in the chapter, as I have said before, I'm tired. The super-crossover is now in progress, and will be released soon. The poll until the next chapter will be "Longer chapters, or faster updates?" Please vote on my profile for which you prefer.**

**A/N 3: I saw Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows Pt.2! It was really good, and made up really well for all the slow bullshit in Part 1. It also had a great ending. I suggest you guys go see it!**


	25. Feros Pt2

:unknown: POV

Three Days Earlier

I peeked my head around the corner, trying to make out the figures across the warehouse. There were three mercenaries, wearing full body armor. My HUD marked two of them as hostiles, one as my target. They looked bored, chatting and smoking among one another. There was plenty of cover to get closer.

I checked my pistol, making sure it was holding together. I didn't want to screw up like last time. I clenched my fist, remembering when it jammed in the the middle of a firefight. Caused me to receive a few new holes in my armor. Repairable, but annoying nevertheless.

I quietly moved from cover to cover as silently as possible, getting closer and closer to the mercenaries until I finally got within five meters. I unclipped a flashbang from my belt, pulling the pin and tossing it over the crate. They sounded surprised, then the flashbang went off, causing them to yell in confusion.

I popped out of cover, shooting two of the mercenaries with my silenced pistol and hitting the last one with a paralysis dart. They all fell to the ground in unison. I checked my target's vitals, and asari, making sure she was still alive.

"_Good._" I thought, putting stun cuffs on and throwing her over my shoulder. The last lime I made custom sleeper darts, I put too much Morphine Tartrate in the mixture. It's hard to get bounties alive when their heart stops. I should have known better, but theses aren't exactly humans.

I placed her next to a crate around the corner, running back to where the bodies were. I started strapping explosive charges on all crates the trio were guarding, which were filled to the brim with the drug Red Sand. While setting the charges, I grabbed a pack of cigars off the salarian's body, stuffing them in my pocket.

After setting the explosives, I ran back to where the asari was laying, throwing her back over my shoulder. I ran down the halls, taking out my detonator. I counted down to three in my head, triggering the explosives.

A violent vibration rocked the base, causing several lights to got out and several panels to fly off the walls. There was a second explosion shortly afterwards, with caused several pipes on the walls to rupture and start bellowing flames. I planted charges on their main gas regulator, just to make sure the mercs have something more important to think about while I slip out.

I ran outside where my shuttle was waiting. After strapping the asari in, I hopped into the cockpit, blasting off the planet. I looked out the window, happy to see the base spewing flames.

I leaned back in my seat, taking off my battered helmet. I placed it in my lap, letting out a long-winded sigh.

"_Geez, this never gets old._" I thought, taking one of the cigars out of my pocket and lighting it. I puffed it, letting the relaxing sensation roll over me. These old things are so much better than the ones back home. "_I need more jobs like that._"

I looked back into the hold, making sure the asari was still asleep. She was still out cold. I leaned back to relax, but then my Omni-tool started beeping.

I opened it up, seeing there was a call from an unknown source. I answered it, slightly annoyed.

"This is Greed. Who are you?" I asked, annoyed at the sudden call.

"Greed. Nice to finally meet you. We have a job offer for you, if your interested." A devious voice said on the line.

"Who are you?" I asked, curious.

"We are a pro-human organization called Cerberus."

"What's the job?"

"We would like you to find these three people." The voice said, bringing up three images of some young looking men on my Omni-tool. "We here at Cerberus have considerable interest in these individuals, and would like to have them delivered to us, unharmed."

"What's the pay?" I asked, suddenly interested.

"500,000 credits." The voice replied matter-of-factly.

"Where can I find them, and who are they?" I asked, the digits rolling through the pleasure center of my brain.

"They appear to be part of a small merc group called "Mortyr".

"Never heard of them." I replied, thinking how stupid the name is.

"We have been having trouble locating them, but they appear to be affiliated with the human Spectre Commander Shepard. The voice said, bringing up the current location. "If you can find her, you will find them."

I took a long drag from my cigar, thinking about it. "I don't know...following a Spectre sounds REALLY difficult..." I said in a drawn-out tone.

"1,000,000." The voice replied quickly.

"_Music to my ears_." I thought, smiling.

"Fine then. Where do you want to pick them up?" I asked, shifting in my seat.

"We would like to pick them up on Omega, Ring B, Docking Bay 94. We will be waiting. Don't fail us, Greed." The voice finished, cutting off.

I chuckled, taking one last puff of my cigar. A high-value pay, and a high-value target. This was going to be challenging.

…

Sean's POV

"Yeah, the transmitter is down." I said into the comm, smoldering transmitter remains behind me. "How are things on your end, guys?"

"Thomas here. Garrus and I are almost to the Alpha Varren's den." He said on the line. "Ran into some Geth, but they seem to be scattered down here."

"Allen here. Your girlfriend and I are almost finished with the pumps here." Allen said in a sly tone. I heard a loud smacking sound shortly afterwards, followed by Allen yelling. I could hear Garrus and Thomas laughing on the other line.

"Serves you right." I said in an unapologetic tone. "I'm going back towards the entrance. Meet you guys there when your finished."

"Roger, Sean." Thomas replied, cutting the line.

"We got you, Sean." Tali said, Allen yelling in the background. "See you in a bit."

I started walking back towards the entrance to the underground, when something stung my neck. I fell to the ground, unable to move and my vision went dark soon afterwards.

…

Allen's POV

My face felt like it have been stung by a million bees all at once. "AHHHGGG!"

"Maybe next time, you think twice before making fun of someone." Tali told me, unclipping the Plasma Cutter from her hip. "Come on, you big crybaby. Let's find the rest of these water pump and get out of here."

"Sure..." I said, face burning.

We wandered around, blasting any Geth we found, until we located the final pump. Tali activated it, the sound of rushing water resonating from the pipes.

"Good. Let's head back to the entrance." I said. Suddenly, my Omni-tool started beeping.

"Yeah, Sean? What is it?" I asked, receiving no answer. "Sean?"

"Listen to me very closely, ginger. If you want your friend to live, come to the entrance with your pale friend, alone." A dark voice said on the other side of the line. "Leave the petri-dish and the split-lip behind."

"What the fuck? Who the hell is this?" I yelled, suddenly very angry. The line cut afterwards.

"What's going on? Who was that?" Tali asked, sounding very afraid all of the sudden.

"I don't know!" I yelled, closing my Omni-tool. "Stay here!"

"But wait!" She yelled, sounding upset.

"Stay there! Garrus will come for you!" I yelled, running down the halls.

I eventually found Thomas, running around the corner.

"You got the message too?" I yelled, running with him.

"Yeah! Something about Sean being in danger, right?" He said as we ran down the halls.

"What are we going to do?" I asked, just now thinking about it.

"I don't know." He replied, sounding defeated. "All I know is that whoever did this is going to pay."

We arrived at the entrance, seeing Sean lying on the ground. He wasn't moving.

"Sean!" I yelled, leaning down next to him. I checked his vitals, seeing he was unconscious.

"Is he OK?" Thomas asked, aiming his Seeker Rifle around the chamber.

"He's out cold, but appears to be fine." I said, scanning him. I found a dart lodged in his neck. "Some one shot him with some sort of chemical dart."

…

Thomas's POV

Allen said Sean was OK, but I felt like I was being watched. There we so many places for someone to hide here, I couldn't scan them all.

"Get him up. We need to get out of here." I said, moving towards the stairs.

Allen picked Sean up, struggling a little moving up the stairs. Suddenly there was an impact on the concrete next to me. I dropped to the ground, taking cover as Allen went down.

"Allen! ALLEN!" I yelled, hitting the dirt. He was gone is seconds.

"Stand up. Now." A voice commanded from the other side of the chasm.

I was pissed. Some asshole has the balls to come an attack me and my friends here in this decrepit shithole. I felt something snap in my skull, causing me to start glowing with biotic energy. Every ending felt like it was covered with ice water. I stood up, grabbing the man and throwing him across the chasm, making him hit a wall with a thud, knocking off his helmet.

The man ran up to me, landing a punch that knocked my visor off. I ducked, avoiding another swing as I kicked his legs, causing him to collapse on the floor. I grabbed his arm, locking it. He elbowed me in the stomach, causing me to release him. I tackled him back down, knocking the wind out of him. I held him there, keeping him from moving.

"Who the hell are you?" I yelled, punching him in the face.

"Ha ha...my employers didn't say you were a biotic." He said, smiling. "I screwed up on that account."

I punched him in the nose, causing it to bleed. "Who hired you?"

"I don't need to tell you jack shit, kid." He said, spitting blood on my armor.

"You are going to tell me who hired you, or else I'm gonna have to take drastic measures." I yelled, taking my knife out of it's sheath.

"Your barking up the wrong tree, kid." He said, smiling again. "You don't have the balls to do it."

Garrus and Tali finally arrived, rushing over when they saw me. Tali ran over to where Sean and Allen were passed out, while Garrus came over to me.

"Thomas!" Garrus exclaimed, grabbing the man and holding him against the wall. "What the hell happened?"

"This dipshit bounty hunter here tried to capture us." I said, seething. "I'm trying to get some information out of him."

"Let me try." Garrus said, cracking his talons. He grabbed the man, slamming him on the wall. He hit the man several times with vicious blows to the face, causing the man's face to swell up.

"You...can't make...me talk..." He said with a pained expression. Garrus nailed him several more times, causing him to cough up blood.

"AGH!" He yelled, spitting up more blood. "STOP!"

"You ready to talk now, or does my friend have to start actually trying?" I asked with a growl.

"Fuck...you..." He said, wheezing.

I finally snapped, stabbing him in the hand with my knife. He screamed bloody horror.

"TELL ME!" I yelled.

"CERBERUS!" He yelled, face blood red with pain. "FUCKING CERBERUS!"

He passed out shortly later, falling to the ground. I backed away, taking my knife out of his hand. I stared at the blood on my knife, thinking about what I just did.

"What was that, Thomas?" Garrus asked, sounding worried. "I've never seen you like that before."

"I don't know what came over me." I said, looking at the knife. "It just...happened."

"Are you OK?" Garrus asked.

"Yeah, I just need some time, that's all." I said, spinning the knife on my palm.

I put the knife back in my sheath, picking up the bounty hunter's pistol. It barely looked like a pistol anymore.

"Jesus." I said, looking closely at the pistol. "Garrus, look at this!"

"Wow. This gun has twelve mods that are illegal in Council Space." Garrus said, taking the pistol. He took aim at a door-sized piece of rubble, blasting it apart with six shots. "Five of them are of Batarian origin, too. This guy must have payed a fortune to get these."

I leaned down, examining his gear. He have some form of armor that I didn't recognize. It was dented and filled with repaired holes. Looked like it was over a decade old. I took the gauntlet off his arm, seeing it had a dart launcher,built-in Omni-tool, and hidden blade all in one.

"_Sweet_." I thought, Assassin's Creed gittyness rolling over my fandom.

I activated his Omni-tool. There were pages of contracts in his account. My eyebrows went up. This guy was a pro, and I kicked his ass. I felt a small sense of satisfaction.

"Cerberus." Garrus said, kicking the bounty hunter. "Those assholes who were experimenting on Rachni and those husk, right?"

"Yeah." I said, picking my visor off the ground. "Those are the ones."

"What do you want to do about this guy?" He asked, staring him down.

"Leave him. He knows better than to mess with us now." I said, reattaching the visor to the back of my head. I put the gauntlet on as well, it fitting quite nicely. "Tali! Are they alright?"

"They're out cold, but appear to be unharmed. They should be back up in a little while." Tali said, walking back over. She pulled her arm back, slapping the bounty hunter hard in the face. "That's for calling me a petri-dish!"

"He's not even conscious, Tali. Give it a rest." Garrus said, sitting down on a stone slab.

"Alright, I'll go check out what's going on upstairs. You two stay here and keep an eye on them." I said, walking towards the stairs.

…

Weigman's POV

I sat on the couch, eating my pizza. The incident yesterday left my stomach feeling like it had been cut up by razors, but it felt ten times better today.

I changed the channel, trying to find something good. It seemed to be that the more channels there are, the less there is to watch. I finally gave up, going back to the news.

"Welcome to Citadel News Net. I'm Emily Wong. The recent events on the human colony Eden Prime have led Alliance officials to request Council assistance in protecting human colonies bordering the Attican Traverse. The Council claims that the colonies are too close to the edge of Council Space and any deployments could provoke the Terminus Systems into attacking Council Space. Alliance officials continue to press the Council, hoping to reach an impasse." The TV droned as I ate.

"Hey John!" Sydney said, sitting down next to me. "How ya feeling?"

"I'm feeling a lot better now." I said, setting down my pizza. "Thanks for asking."

"No problem." She replied, walking over to the armchair and sitting down. "You look a lot better. Can I change this?"

"Go ahead." I responded, tossing her the remote. "Good luck finding anything to watch. There's nothing but junk on today."

Sydney browsed through the channels, having just about as much luck as me. She finally gave up, switching off the television.

"Dammit!" She remarked, tossing the remote in the air and snatching out of the air. "Why bother having so many channels if there's never anything to watch?"

"Who knows?" I said, finishing the last slice of pizza. "Some people like watching nothing, I guess."

Sydney let out a loud sigh, folding her hands behind her head and leaning backwards. "So Weigman, what do you think about this place?"

"Our apartment? It's nice." I replied, opening my Omni-tool.

"No, no. About this place. In space." She corrected, looking at the window.

"Oh, well...it's interesting." I said, slightly confused. "It's cool and terrifying at the same time."

"Really? Why would it be terrifying?" She asked, sounding confused.

"Well, we arrive here, getting captured my batarian slavers. They attempt to sell us to the Blue Suns, when we are violently rescued by a quarian assassin." I said, recalling the events four days ago. "Not the best first impression, ya know?"

"Yeah, I can see where your coming from." She replied, rubbing her head. "That was so scary, that batarian running his hand through my hair."

"I saw you. You looked scared to death." I said, chuckling quietly to myself.

"HEY! That's not funny!" She yelled, not amused.

"Aw...come on! That was a long time ago!" I said, now laughing out loud.

"It was only four days ago!" She replied, getting prissy.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry." I apologized, holding my hands up.

"You should be." She said, turning away with an angry look on her face.

My Omni-tool started beeping loudly all of the sudden. I opened it up, seeing there was a call from John. I answered it.

"GUYS! I NEED HELP!" John yelled, gunfire in the background.

"John! What's going on?" I asked in a hurried tone.

"I can't explain right now!" He yelled, sounding scared. "I need you to hightail it down here and help me!"

"Where?" I asked, running to my room as Sydney did the same.

"I'm down near the transit hub! Hurry!" He yelled, the gunfire in the background growing more intense.

I threw on my armor and grabbed my weapons, running out the door with Sydney.

"_I don't know what's happening, but whoever is threatening the safety of one of my friends will pay._" I thought, putting my hood on.

…

Sean' POV

I woke up, disoriented and unable to see anything. My head felt like it was ready to split open. I tried moving my arms, but they wouldn't respond. I groaned, using all my strength to turn my head. I heard talking, but I couldn't make out who it was. I blinked several more times, vision improving slightly.

"Sean? Sean?" I finally made out next to me.

"Ugh...is that you, Tali? I can't see a thing." I said, turning my head. I saw a blurry purple visor looking down on me.

"Yeah, it's me. Are you alright?" She asked, holding my hand.

"Now...now I know what being frozen in...in carbonite feels like..." I said in a half groan, laughing lightly.

"What?" Tali asked, not getting the joke.

"Nothing." I replied, turning my head again. "I can't move. What...happened?"

"Some bounty hunter tried to capture the three of you." Tali said, shaking her head. "What did the three of you do to provoke Cerberus?"

"Wait, wait, wait. CERBERUS sent a...a bounty hunter after us?" I asked, suddenly confused.

"Yes." I heard another voice say.

"Hey Garrus." I said weakly, smiling under my helmet. I was finally making out a stinging sensation on the back of my neck.

"How are you feeling? You sound a little...what do you humans call it...?" Garrus commented, pulling me off the ground and sitting me on some piece of rubble.

"High?" I tried answering. "I feel like...like I just had my molars removed, except I...I can't feel my legs or arms."

I looked over at the wall, seeing a lone form laying against the wall. He was black and blue, and had a large hole in his hand.

"Whoa...what happened to that guy?" I asked in a slurred tone.

"That's they guy who tried to kidnap you." Garrus said, patting me on the back. "Thomas and I taught him a little lesson, but Thomas did most of the work."

"Wait...Thomas beat the crap out of that guy?" I asked. "He's capable of beating up people?"

"He kind of snapped. He stabbed the guy in the hand, demanding information." Tali said, sitting down next to me. "It was kind of scary."

Suddenly, there was a loud slamming sound, followed by Thomas running down the stairs, out of breath.

"What the- what happened?" Garrus asked, walking over to Thomas.

"All the colonist have gone nuts! They tried to kill me!" Thomas said between breaths. I could hear a loud banging sound coming from the top of the stairs.

"Why have they gone crazy?" Garrus asked, looking up the stairway.

"I don't know. I was up there, when suddenly the sensors on my Omni-tool started screaming that there were unknown bio-agents in the air. Next thing I know, everyone in the place starts shooting at me!" Thomas said, bringing up the alert on his Omni-tool.

"Unknown bio agents?" Garrus repeated. "Do you thing this has anything to do with them going crazy?"

"I don't see any other reason behind it." Thomas agreed. "Unless I actually smell that bad."

"Very funny. So your saying were trapped down here?" Garrus asked, leaning against the wall.

"Pretty much." Thomas replied dryly, looking over at me. "I see dink over here is finally awake."

"Hey...it not my fault...some coward shot me with a sleeper dart like...a little bitch." I said, struggling to keep my eyes open.

"Perhaps." Thomas replied, rubbing his chin. The banging on the door upstairs grew louder and louder.

"Joker to Ground Team, Joker to Ground Team! Are you guys still there?" Joker asked on the comm.

"Yeah, we're here Joker." Thomas said into his earpiece. "Are the colonist attacking you too?"

"Yeah, their banging on the side of the ship, trying to get in!" Joker said, obviously scared for the safety of the Normandy. "I still can't contact Shepard. Have you guys had any luck?"

"No, something's still jamming the signal." Thomas said, checking the frequency again. We're on our own for now. The five of us are stuck in the underground passage until help arrives."

"I hope Shepard's OK." Joker finished, closing the line.

I was still woozy, but I noticed that the bounty hunter was gone.

"Um...where did the bounty...hunter go?" I asked, standing up.

Everyone looked at the spot where the soldier of fortune was before.

"He must have run away. Coward." Garrus commented, crossing his arms.

"Oh well. There's no way he can harm us in his condition." Thomas commented, shaking his head. "Let the rat scurry away."

Greed's POV

I limped down the service tunnel, cursing at myself. I was ashamed of myself, giving out client information like that. They were aware now, which was going to make my job much more difficult. I was pretty sure my leg was broken, and that several of my ribs were cracked. This was going to take a while to recover from.

I finally reached my ship, activating the auto pilot. I sat in my chair, thinking about that encounter. The three of them looked so young, and it surprised me that the one was a biotic. It didn't matter now. When he recovered, he would hunt them down for this embarrassment. He wanted to get revenge.

And he always got what he wanted.

…

**A/N: Everyone voted for longer chapters in the poll, so here you go. The sad news it that a crash on my computer caused the loss of my crossover, so I'll work on that later. As a side note, a great artist on deviantART called *upshdragoon has agreed to do a little bit of art for my story, and I'll include his OC band in my story at some point. Go check out his art, it's great!**

**.com/**


	26. Cerberus Strikes

**A/N: Sorry it took so long of this chapter to get out, guys. I've been busy preparing for school this semester, and it's put a real dent in my personal time. Anyways, here's the next chapter of The Odd Ones Out. Things are finally coming to rotation in Mass Effect, and when it's all over, that's when things get interesting.**

...

Sean's POV

Chakwas walked into the Med Bay. Allen and I just checked up on by the good doctor, seeing what was in the compound that was used to knock us out. Judging from the look on her face, there was bad news.

We both still couldn't move. Shepard had Garrus and Wrex bring us back to the ship after knocking out all the colonist, as she and the other went down to find the Thorian.

Allen tried to lean up, but failed. I could tell he noticed her expression too.

"Uhh...what was that stuff, doc?" Allen asked, worry in his voice.

"I ran a scan on the darts Thomas pulled out of your necks." She said, picking up a datapad and reading it. "I found large doses of medical knockouts in the dart, along with traces of Thresher Maw venom."

"Thresher Maw venom?" Allen yelled, wincing. "Isn't that stuff deadly?"

"Normally it would be, but it appears it was only applied in a microscopic dose. It was just enough to paralyze the two of you." She replied.

"Wait, we're paralyzed?" I asked, trying once again to move my arm with no avail.

"It's not permanent, but you both will not be able to move for the next few days." She finished, putting down her datapad.

"What are we supposed to do? That means we can't help Shepard!" I yelled, shaking my head.

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing you two can do other than wait for the venom to wear off." Chakwas said in an apologetic tone, shaking her head.

"So what are we going to do? Lay here like plants for the next few days?" Allen said, sounding insulted.

"If we go back to the Citadel, the doctors in the Alliance Hospital may have something to flush your systems out faster. If not, you'll just have to wait." She replied, standing up. "I'll talk to the Commander about it when she comes back. In the mean time, you two better get some rest."

Chakwas left the room, leaving me and Allen feeling defeated. We had just been knocked off the mission.

We both sat in silence for a few minutes. I felt so defeated, that all my hope had just deteriorated.

"FUCK!" Allen suddenly yelled, banging his head on his pillow. "If I ever find that bounty hunter, I will fucking KILL him!"

"There's no sense in yelling about it." I said in a calm tone. "We'll find him, and make him pay for this."

"That's not enough!" He yelled, looking at me. "He will DIE!"

I ignored him as he ranted, thinking about the encounter. I had to admit, I felt as infuriated as Allen, but didn't want to scream like a banshee about it. That guy was a coward.

"Allen, please stop before I come in there and give you a sedative." Chakwas said through the intercom. Allen promptly stopped shouting, leaving a angry look on his face.

I laid there, finally falling asleep.

…

Weigman's POV

Sydney and I rushed out of the Residential complex. We found the nearest shuttle, bribing the owner, and jumping inside. I hopped in the driver's seat.

I looked at the holographic displays, confused at it all. I started panicking in my head.

"Your not driving a stick, Weig! What's the hold-up?" Sydney shouted next to me.

"I don't know how to drive this!" I yelled, pressing a random button. A radio started blaring.

"Get outta my way!" She shouted, pushing me into the passenger's seat as she occupied my position. She started the shuttle up, bringing us off the ground and into the air. She started racing through the traffic.

"Can you track John's Omni-tool from here?" She asked, dodging shuttles.

"Yeah!" I said, accessing my Omni-tool and locating John's signal. I projected a waypoint on the windshield.

Sydney picked up speed, closing in on John's signal. We finally saw him, in cover behind a wreaked shuttle. He was being fired on by several fully-armored men. John was pinned down, taking potshots at them from behind the shuttle.

"What should we do?" Sydney asked as we hovered at a distance.

I looked at the men, seeing they were all bunched up.

"Fly down as low as you can and ram into them. We might be able to take all of them out at once." I said, pointing out how close they were together.

Sydney accelerated the shuttle, flying low towards the armored men. They must have heard us coming, because they turned around, aiming at the shuttle. They didn't have enough time to fire at us. Sydney rammed them, flattening all but one of the troopers.

I quickly jumped out, gunning down the last trooper before she could even bring her assault rifle to bear.

As Sydney ran over to where John was, I walked over to examine the trooper's armor. It had a gray base, accompanied by black and yellow markings on some of the joints. There was a distinctive yellow logo on the breastplate. I took a picture of it with my Omni-tool for future reference.

I ran over to where John was. Sydney was there, treating a bullet wound in his shoulder with Medi-gel.

"Jesus. Are you alright, John?" I asked, seeing all the blood around the wound.

"No I'm not alright!" He yelled, clutching his pistol. "I was freaking shot, man!"

"What the hell happened?" I asked, looking at all the wreckage in the hub.

"Not now, we need to get outta here, before more of them show up." John said, standing up. "That shuttle still work?"

I ran over, inspecting the damage. There were dents all over the front from hitting the commandos, but otherwise ready to go.

"It's fine!" I shouted. "Let's get going!"

John and Sydney ran over to the shuttle, hopping in. I stayed in the back with John as Sydney manned the controls again. We took off, leaving the hub as fast as possible.

"Alright, now can you tell me what happened?" I asked, giving John a deadpanned expression.

"Fine. I took a transport to the hub, planning to go check out the markets on this end of the ward. When I arrived, there were all these troops in heavy looking armor waiting for me. One of them asked me to come with them. I said no." John explained, still clutching his pistol.

"Then they attacked you?" I asked.

"Yeah. The guy who asked me to go with them tried to jab me with some sort of cattle prod. I dodged it, twisted his arm around and made him jab himself. The moment he went down, all the other troopers took out their assault rifles and started firing at me. I ran like a bat outta hell to the nearest bit of cover I could find. My shields took most of the fire, but one got through and hit my shoulder." John continued, getting a pained expression on his face when he recalled getting shot.

"Do you know who they were?" I asked, bringing up the image I took. "They had this icon on their armor."

"Wait...I've seen that logo somewhere before." Sydney said, looking back at the image for a split second.

"Where?" I asked, suddenly curious.

"It was on the news. I think it's the logo for Cerberus." She said, trying to recall.

"Cerberus? Who the hell are they?" John asked, sounding annoyed.

"There some sort of pro-human terrorist organization." She recalled, dodging more traffic. "Some of their bases in the Skyllian Verge were destroyed last week."

"Wait, Sean sent me a message talking about that!" I said, remembering what Sean had told me. "The three of them helped Commander Shepard take down those bases!"

"Then why the hell would they come after us?" John asked. "Why wouldn't they go after them?"

"I don't know." I said, shaking my head. "They must think we're affiliated with Commander Shepard or something, and want revenge."

"How would they make that kind of connection?" Sydney asked.

"Maybe they traced our messages, I don't know. All I know is we need to get out of here." I said in a cautions tone. "If they found one of us so easily, they must know where we live."

"Which means they could be waiting for us there." Sydney added.

"Right." I agreed. "I think our best bet would be to get a pubic transport off the Citadel, and head for another planet."

"That sounds like a plan, but I'm kinda in bad shape right now." John said, pointing at his shoulder. "I'll be a bit weird walking around in public with a gaping hole in my shoulder."

"It's not gaping." Sydney scoffed. "It barely grazed you."

"It's bled enough to be suspicious." John corrected. "Are there any rags in this thing?"

I looked around, finding a box of window wipes. I cleaned the blood off of John's armor, tossing the rags on the floor.

"There, that should do until we can get that hole patched up." I said, dusting off my hands. "So, where are we going to go?"

"Maybe we should go to Earth?" John suggested.

"That doesn't sound like a great idea." Sydney countered. "We're dealing with a pro-HUMAN organization here."

"Good point." John admitted.

We debated for a while, finally deciding on Illium.

"That sounds good. They probably won't be looking for us in the Terminus Systems." I remarked, moving back to the front seat. I brought up the schedules for the public shuttles, finding the next one for Illium was leaving in ten minutes.

"There's one leaving in ten minutes over in the north docks. If we hurry, we might make it." I said, closing my Omni-tool.

"Don't worry about that." Sydney commented, somehow going faster that she was going before. I sunk in my seat.

…

:unknown: POV

One Hour Later

I examined the remains of the Cerberus agents, scanning their corpses. C-Sec had cordoned off the area to any civilians. Me and my partner, Ian Shaw, were investigating the area.

"So...what can you tell me, Amy?" Ian asked, walking over to me.

"They appear to have been crushed by a shuttle that hit them at high velocity." I answered, looking at the only non-mangled corpse. "She was killed by a assault rifle."

"What can you tell me about their armor?" He asked, looking at the sections that remained.

"It appears to be a Cerberus Commando Suit." I replied, closing my Omni-tool. "I cross-checked the icon on the suit, and it matches."

"So we're dealing with Cerberus?" Ian asked himself. "This is getting complicated. What else did you find?"

"I found blood on the ground next to that shuttle." I responded, looking at the bullet-filled shuttle. "There was one problem, though."

"What?" Ian asked, looking down.

"I scanned the blood and ran a DNA search. The blood wasn't contaminated enough to be corrupted, but I couldn't find anyone in the database who matches the strand." I said, opening my Omni-tool and reading the results.

"We'll send it back to R&I to analyze it further." Ian said as his Omni-tool started beeping. "I gotta go, there's another case. Meet me back at the station when your finished."

"Sure." I replied as Ian ran off.

Ian took off in a cruiser, as I wrapped up did the same. I got in my cruiser and took off. Moments afterwards, I received a call. I shut off the scanner and opened up my Omni-tool.

"What happened, Agent Ross?" A man asked on the other end of the line.

"The targets got away, sir." I answered. "All the men sent after Target B were killed. No sign of Target's A or C."

"Damn. Did you recover the security footage?" The man asked.

"Yes. I wiped the local copy as well to throw off C-Sec." I replied, sending the data to Cerberus. "I also couldn't match the blood sample to any known profiles."

"Hmm...interesting." The man said slowly. "Good job, Agent. Send me anything else as it develops."

"Yes sir. I will not fail you." I replied as the line was cut.

…

Sean's POV

I woke up, seeing Tali sleeping soundly on my chest. I smiled and tried to move my hand, with no avail. I silently cursed to myself, looking over at Allen, who was snoring loudly. I was surprised to see Liara sitting next to him, watching him with a smile on her face. She seemed to find his bear snore funny.

I turned my head around, looking back at the ceiling. I thought about what was going to happen, and how I wasn't gonna get to see it. I closed my eyes and swallowed hard, holding back sadness.

Shepard suddenly walked in. I closed my eyes, pretending to still be asleep. I heard her stop for a few seconds, then she went to Chakwas's office. A few minutes later, I heard the door open again, hearing her stop next to my bed.

"Can I wake them, doctor?" I heard Shepard ask quietly.

"It's your decision, Commander." Chakwas said in a compelling tone.

"Tali?" I heard Shepard ask. I felt the pressure on my chest disappear shortly afterwards as I heard Tali leave the room followed by what I was guessing to be Liara.

"Sean? Allen? Can you two please wake up?" Shepard asked the two of us. I heard Allen suddenly snort as he was woken from his slumber. I slowly opened my eyes as if I had just woken up.

"Aww, dammit!" I heard Allen exclaim. "I thought this was a dream!"

"If only we had such luck, Allen." I remarked, shaking my head.

"I need to speak to the two of you about this." Shepard said, regaining my attention. "It's important."

"What do you want to discuss, Catherine?" I asked, turning to her.

"I want to talk about what we're going to do." Shepard said in a calm tone.

"We finally found the last piece to the puzzle on Feros." Shepard said with a glimmer in her eyes. "We know where the Conduit is. It's on Ilos in the Terminus Systems."

"So what are we going to do?" I asked.

"The Council wants a meeting with me on the Citadel to organize an attack on Saren." Shepard said, folding her hands behind her back. "I want to send you to the Alliance Hospital on the Citadel while we're there."

"Wait, they want YOUR help to stage an attack?" I said in a disbelieving tone. "That doesn't sound right in the slightest bit."

"What makes you say that?" Shepard asked, cocking her eyebrows into a confused shape.

"Think about it. The entire mission the Council berated you every occasion they got, disagreeing with you in one way or another." I said in a reasonable tone. "They have also told you countless times about "the dangers between Council Space and the Terminus Systems". Why would they suddenly start telling you everything you want to hear, despite everything that has happened between you and them?"

"He has a point, Shepard." Allen agreed, looking over at me. "Remember, this is the Council we're talking about here. Them suddenly agreeing with you seems a little out of character. Besides, why would they want your help in organizing an attack plan?"

Shepard stared at the floor, obviously thinking heavily about what we told her.

"I'm gonna go have another talk with the Council." Shepard said, looking confused. "I'll be back later."

Shepard quickly left the Med Bay, leaving us by ourselves once more.

"You think that was the best idea?" Allen whispered to me.

"I don't know." I whispered, closing my eyes. "I'm sick of staying quiet, especially after what happened on Virmire. If there's a chance I can keep her from being betrayed, I'll take it."

"You don't know what this could cause." Allen said in a warning tone.

"Your right, but I'll take that chance." I replied, letting out a deep sigh. "Anything is better than sitting here and watching the worst unfold."

"It's your choice, but I claim no responsibly if something changes." Allen finished.

"Even though you added to my argument." I said, smirking.

"Well...I couldn't help it." Allen remarked, a grin stretching across his face. "Call me a hypocrite."

I simply rolled my eyes, looking back at the ceiling. I smiled.

…

Weigman's POV

"...and the total for a one-way trip the three of you will be 300 credits." The woman in the booth said.

"Sure, here you go." I replied, handing her the chits. She promptly opened the door for the three of us, and we ran inside the transport. It was packed inside. Most of the passengers were asari, but there were also several other races on board. The only human we spotted was a young woman who was snoring loudly near the back.

We found a row of three unoccupied seats. We sat down, letting out a collective sigh of relief. Shortly afterwards, the captain told everyone that we were taking off. We felt acceleration, then is subsided as we left the Citadel's artificial gravity.

John looked beaten. He looked exhausted, and tried falling asleep with no avail. He rubbed his shoulder, the anesthetic properties of the medi-gel starting to wear off. Sydney finally started showing emotion towards what had happened. She quickly covered it up by opening her Omni-tool and playing some game.

I laid back in my seat, thinking about the encounter with Cerberus. We were on their radar, and if anything I've heard is true, they will not rest until they find us. I hoped to god that Sean and the other were alright.

I felt a light jolt as we hit the relay, propelling towards the Terminus, and our next adventure.

…

**I realized that I had forgotten to mention this. Shepard is a Spacer/War Hero, so she's as paragon as you can possible go. :)**


	27. Back In The Game

**A/N: This chapter isn't very long, and is a bit filler-ish. There will be copious amounts of action in the next chapter but for now, bear with me.**

…

Weigman's POV

Nos Astra Spaceport

12 Hours Later

"Alright everyone, welcome to Nos Astra!" The pilot proclaimed happily. "Please remember to take all your belongings with you as you exit the craft, and have a nice day!"

"Is it just me, or does that guy like his job a little TOO much?" John whispered as we stood up. I simply shrugged as we got up and left.

We silently filed out of the transport, seeing the epic expanse of Nos Astra. It was striking. John let out a long "wow", walking over and leaning on the railing. Sydney and I followed.

"Look at those towers!" Sydney exclaimed. "They must be miles high!"

"Wait, multiple Kingdom Towers?" John replied, getting a smug look on his face. "What are the asari compensating for if that one Saudi Arabia guy was compensating for his-"

"Anyway." I said, cutting John off. "We should get an apartment as soon as possible, don't you agree?"

"It sounds like a plan." Sydney said, turning to me. "Let's see if we can pay in cash and avoid using our real names."

"Good idea." I responded, turning to John. I looked at his wound, and could tell the Medi-gel was starting to wear off. "Actually, how about you look for some medical supplies to clean his wound, while we go find a place to stay?"

"Sounds like a plan." She replied. "Ring me when you find a place, alright?"

"Sure." I responded as we went our separate ways.

…

Sean's POV

SSV Normandy

2 Hours Later

"I can't believe it!" Shepard yelled as she ran into the Med Bay, waking Allen and I up.

"Whoa, what happened?" I asked, a jolt of energy suddenly running through me.

"You were right!" Shepard exclaimed angrily. "I just got finished talking to the Council. They they tell me I'm just being paranoid, and that they just want to talk, when suddenly I get a message from Captain Anderson telling me they had planned to impound us when we arrive!"

I closed my eyes, letting out a deep sigh. "I guess it's a good thing I brought that to your attention, I suppose."

"Yes, it is." She said, closing her eyes and looking down at the floor. "If I didn't stop Joker and call the Council, we could have been grounded!"

"God knows what that could have done to Joker..." Allen added.

"So what are we going to do?" I asked in a curious tone.

"We're gonna do what the Council is so scared of. We're going to find Ilos, and put a stop to Saren and his plans." Shepard proclaimed, smacking her fist into her palm.

"That's great and all, but what are we going to do?" Allen asked in his usual tone. "I can't fire any weapons when I can't use my arms."

"I don't know. If we come under attack, we may have to put you two in the Sleeper Pods just to be safe." She said, thinking about it. "I'm sorry."

Allen groaned as I simply shut my eyes. "It's fine."

Shepard got up and left, leaving a wide smile on my face.

I did it.

…

Sydney's POV

Nos Astra Markets

30 Minutes Later

I looked over the many shops in the area. There was so much here it boggled my mind. Sure, half of it was illegal in Council Space, but I guess that doesn't really matter out here.

I had my eye on a few medical kits, but I couldn't decided which. It occurred to me that John needed that wound patched up soon, but I wanted to get the best I possible could.

I looked in the window of one shop, seeing a Sirta Foundation Field Medical Kit. Perfect.

I walked in, picking one up. There was a line to the register, so I had to wait. Suddenly, a monitor on the wall that had been playing some asari show suddenly flashed "Breaking News!"

Me and everyone in the shop stopped and turned our heads. The news was that the Citadel had been attacked by and unknown enemy. Everyone started talking among one another, asking questions and coming up with random theories about the sudden attack.

I immediately turned on my Omni-tool, calling Weigman. He finally answered.

"What's up, Sydney? Did you find your med kit?" Weigman asked calmly.

"Have you heard the news yet?" I asked, looking back at the screen. "The Citadel is under attack!"

"What? Really?" Weig exclaimed, surprised.

"Citadel Attacked By Unknown Force." I read off the headline.

"Shit. Do you think it has-" Weig started.

"No, it doesn't look like it was Cerberus. This looks much different." I cut him off, looking at the static images flashing across the screen.

"So what does this mean, then?" Weig asked.

"It doesn't mean anything. We're in the Terminus." I stated in a confident tone. "Found a place to stay yet?"

"Yeah, we just got finished paying and we were about to call you. Have you found anything yet?" Weigman replied in a relaxed tone.

I looked down at my medical kit. "Yeah, I'm waiting in line to pay for it.

"We can always count on you, Sydney." Weig stated in a amused tone. "Better make it quick, though. John's medi-gel isn't gonna last much longer."

"I'll try. Just send me the address." I said, closing the line. By now, the line was moving again, and I was close to the front. I took one more glance at the ship. It made me feel uncomfortable, as if it was looking at me. It caused me to glare a little, breaking my concentration.

There was something wrong with that ship, and I could feel it. I looked away, pushing the image into the back of my mind.

…

Sean's POV

:location unknown:

30 Minutes Later

I knew I must have fallen asleep again. I was in the familiar bright room, the Prothean standing not too far away.

I noticed I could use my arms and legs.

"_Duh, your having a vision, dummy_." I thought, rubbing my head.

"It's not really a vision, but a good enough description." The Prothean said, turning to look at me.

"What the- you can hear my thoughts?" I said, feeling slightly violated.

"Of course. When we brought you here, it formed a sort of...bond." The Prothean said in his usual monotone. "Similar to that of Revan and Bastila from your Knights of the Old Republic game."

"You can see my memories, too?" I said, feeling even more violated than before. "Get out of my head!"

"I apologize." The Prothean said in a sincere tone. "You have some very interesting memories, powerful memories." He finished, getting what I assumed to be a sad look on his face. "A lot of very sad ones..."

"Don't you DARE bring that up." I said in a threatening manner, pointing my finger at the Prothean accusingly. "Don't you DARE."

"...which is why we brought him and your parents here." The Prothean finished, as if not hearing my threat.

My jaw immediately dropped, any anger I had disappearing.

"You mean..."

"Yes, that was him on Noveria." The Prothean deadpanned. "And your parents are here as well."

"Where...where are they?" I asked quietly.

"There safe. I can tell you where they are once the Sovereign has been stopped." He replied as sincerely as possible.

"But what are Allen and I suppose to do?" I said desperately. "Both of us are paralyzed!"

"I can teach you two how to leech the poison out of your bloodstreams." He replied. "Please kneel."

I reluctantly followed his request, kneeling next to him. I felt myself begin to rile up with biotic energy.

"Please be calm, and open your mind." He said in my head. "This will take awhile."

"Wait, can I as you something?" I asked curiously.

"What is it you wish to know?" He asked, looking down at me.

"What is your name?" I asked, opening my eyes.

The Prothean looked taken back. "I...don't remember anymore."

…

Weigman's POV

Talaven Apartments

10 Minutes Later

It took a awhile to set up in the new place. They charged extra for being anonymous, and it was steep. In the end though, it was worth it.

The apartment had a wide panoramic view of Nos Astra, with a large living area. It had a large, fully stocked kitchen with another weird appliance I didn't recognize. The place had several spare rooms, with three full bedrooms. The most prominent thing was the private shuttle port on the side. John really liked that.

"I never dreamed of having a place like this." John said, crashing on the couch and looking out the window. "I still want to know what the asari are compensating for."

"Hey, Mr. Innuendo?" I asked with a dull expression. "Can you get your bloodstained ass off the nice leather couch and into the kitchen until Sydney gets back?"

John grudgingly listened, walking into the kitchen and sitting on one of the stools.

"Speaking of Sydney, when is she gonna get here?" John asked, rubbing his shoulder for the millionth time.

"She said she was paying for the kit last time I called her." I said, leaning on the counter top. "She should be here soon."

Almost as if by command, the bell on the door ringed. The screen in the kitchen showed Sydney standing outside with a large medical kit. I hit the button on the wall, allowing her to come in.

Sydney walked in, bewildered by the sight of our new digs. "Wow..."

"Finally." John remarked with a relived look on his face. "Can we fix this now?"

"Sure." She replied, cracking open the med kit.

Sydney got to work on John's arm as I took a seat on the couch. I turned on the TV, checking out the news. The channels were clogged with all that stuff about the attack on the Citadel.

The images were fuzzy, but there was one image of a huge ship that looked like a cockroach. The thing looked creepy as hell, and made me want to turn off the screen.

I hoped that Sean and the others were still alright, especially if that roach ship had anything to do with Commander Shepard.

...

Sean's POV

One Hour Later

SSV Normandy

I stirred, opening my eyes to be greeted by a Tali'Zorah standing over me.

"Hey, Tali." I said as she gave me a big hug.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, hugging me a little harder.

I moved my arm, albeit with some difficulty, returning Tali's hug.

Tali gasped. I smiled, embracing Tali as hard as I could.

"Alright Sean." She said, giggling. "You're starting to hurt me."

"I'm sorry." I apologized, letting her go. "I guess I'm feeling very well."

"How-how did you recover so quickly?" She stammered out, holding my hand.

"I don't know." I replied as truthfully as I possibly could. "I woke up, and I could feel my arms and legs again."

"This is amazing!" She replied, her grip tightening on my hand. "Should I tell Chakwas?"

"Sure, go ahead." I agreed, smiling. "I'd like to get out of here and do something other than lay on my ass all day."

Tali got up to summon the good doctor, while I threw my legs over the bed and looked over at Allen. Only now I noticed the faint blue glow around him, pulsating slowly. It wasn't faint enough that it was not noticeable to the normal eye. Tali must have noticed it, but she didn't said anything about it?

Chakwas reentered the Med Bay shortly afterwards, a dumbstruck look plastered on her face the moment she saw me. She immediately jumped into action, scanning me with her Omni-tool. She looked more and more confused as she went over the results.

"Sean? What in the world?" She said in a disbelieving tone, looking me over. "How in god's name did you recover that quickly from that venom?"

"I...don't know." I said in the best confused tone I could muster. "I woke up, and I could feel everything again!"

"This is impossible." She stammered out, holding her chin. "No one has ever recovered naturally from Thresher Maw poison this quickly."

At that moment, Allen started to stir. He clutched his forehead, groaning. He froze for a second before finally opening his eyes.

"My God! I can walk!" He declared in joy, standing up and fist-pumping the air. "Yeah!"

I looked over at Chakwas, who looked like she was at a loss for words. She simply sat down in one of the chairs in the bay, clutching her forehead.

"Alright...I don't know what to say." Chakwas said in a exhausted tone, opening her Omni-tool. "I guess I should call Shepard to tell her the news."

"Sure." I said, cracking my knuckles. "It's time to go kick some ass."

...

**A/N: I forgot to mention, Weigman and the others arrive on Illium right after Sovereign attacks. The hours tell you how long it's been. Sean and the others have been groundside way before they arrive. **


	28. Ilos

**A/N: Hello, everyone! It is I, GIRLIKESTACOS, back from a lo- *dodges randomly throw object* Whoa, watch it! I'm sorry I've been gon- *dodges another object* Hey! Alright, alright, I ****apologize for not writing for so long, I've been busy with stuff involving school and moving, and I'm really happy to be writing again. *long pause, gets hit with a random object* Ah, forget it. Here you go guys. **

…

Sean's POV SSV Normandy

"Well, as long as you two are fit, I suppose you two can go down with us." Shepard said with a smirk and crossed arms.

"Yeah!" Allen and I both exclaimed at the same time, jumping in the air and high fiving.

"But…" Shepard added, holding up a finger from her crossed arms. "If any of you two start experiencing any sharp pains or anything, I want you out of combat."

"Sure thing, Shepard." I replied with a small nod. Allen nodded as well.

"Good. Collect your friend and get suited up. We'll be arriving on Ilos shortly." Shepard ordered, walking back towards the Med Bay.

"Sure thing, ma'am." I responded, walking towards our quarters with Allen in tow. We walked inside, finding Thomas with a shocked expression.

"Wow." He simply exclaimed, shutting off his terminal and standing up.

"Long story." I told him, walking over to my locker and grabbing my helmet.

"Could I hear this long story?" He asked with a curious expression on his face.

"We'll tell you after we've saved the galaxy, alright?" Allen said smugly, opening his locker.

"Fine." Thomas accepted, walking over to his locker.

Five minutes later, we were all suited up and ready to go with the exception of Allen, who was busy trying to find a way to fit more grenades on his persons.

"Can you give it a rest, Allen?" I said in my digital voice, shaking my head. "If just one of those gets hit out there, you're screwed. Why do you want to carry eight?"

"Because I feel like blowing some shit up." Allen replied with a shameless look plastered on his face.

"I claim no responsibility for the loss of any limbs during this mission." I remarked dryly, grabbing my BFG and locking it on my back with a satisfying *clack*.

"I didn't ask you to." Allen shot back, trying vainly to put one under the sleeve of his armor. "Dammit."

"Come on, let's go." I said, waving towards the door. Allen groaned, following Thomas and I.

We took the lift down. After a long wait, the doors opened revealing the whole team getting ready. Ash was fixing her assault rifle, and Wrex was where he always was, leaning on his stack of crates. Liara was putting on her armor in the corner, while Garrus was ready and typing his calculations a little more vigorously than usual.

"Oh Garrus, you sly dog." I said slyly to myself.

"What?" Allen asked, hearing what I said.

"Nothing." I corrected quickly, looking towards another direction.

Tali was nowhere to be seen, so I quietly slipped into Engineering to see if she was there. Sure enough, she was working herself off at her station, fully equipped with her gear.

"Hey Tali." I greeted, causing her to jump slightly.

"Oh sorry!" I quickly apologized, taking off my helmet.

"It's alright." She said, pressing her hand against her chest. "I never liked the sound of that helmet."

"It helps intimidate my enemies." I replied with an innocent smile. "It also helps scare my girlfriend."

She giggled, pushing me in a playful manner. "You are so weird."

"That's why I'm here." I responded, smiling. "Anyway, we're almost there. Are you ready?"

"Yeah, I'm ready. Let me finish this and I'll be in there soon." She told me, turning back to her console.

"Alright, we're all just getting ready. See you in a bit." I said, running out of Engineering. Shepard was just coming out of the elevator into the hold.

"Everyone gather around!" Shepard yelled, circling with her finger in the air. Everyone migrated to where Shepard was, and Tali came running from Engineering shortly afterwards.

I was rather excited, barely able to hold in my anticipation. I could see Thomas and Allen shifting as well, and I could understand why. We were going to save the galaxy!

But at the same time, I worried. Since we didn't get caught in lockdown on the Citadel, that means we should arrive earlier than we do in the game. I could have changed the entire mission by doing that. I was hopeful that everything was going to work out, but you never know.

"Alright, we've just entered the system. From what we can tell, Saren hasn't gone down to the planet yet, but he has sent Geth scouting teams to search the ruins." Shepard explained, pacing. She looked slightly worried, as if something was bothering her. "There's no chance of destroying Sovereign by ourselves, so our only choice is to wait for Saren to go to the surface himself. When he's away from the Reaper, we'll use the Mako to drop down there and stop him from reaching the Conduit."

"That sounds good, except for one thing." Wrex commented, waving his hand casually.

"What's wrong with it, Wrex?" Shepard asked, sounding curious.

"What's stopping the Geth from activating the Conduit for Saren?" Wrex asked in his gruff demeanor.

Shepard paused, looking down at the floor. I could tell she hadn't thought about it.

"Damn." She exclaimed, holding her forehead and pacing slightly faster. "I hadn't thought about that."

"What's stopping us from dropping down there right now? Why does Saren need to be down there for us to go?" I asked, confused.

"If we drop down there without Saren being down there, we'll have no idea where to go, and there could be a chance Saren may try to escape." Shepard answered, sounding slightly annoyed. "If Saren escapes, the mission will still be a failure."

"Well that if-"I stared to say, when I was suddenly cut off by the sound of Joker's voice on the intercom.

"Commander, we have a problem!" Joker exclaimed, sounding alarmed.

"What's going on, Joker?" The Commander asked quickly.

"That giant ship of Saren's, it's turning towards us!" He said, sounding slightly frightened.

"What! But the cloaking device is turned on! How did they see us?" Shepard yelled.

"I don't know, and I don't want to wait around to see how much damage they can do!" Joker said, obviously afraid for the safety of the ship.

"Fine." Shepard said quickly. "Alright, everyone into the Mako! Joker, find us a landing zone!"

We all jumped into the Mako, Garrus taking control of the turret this time.

"_I've been waiting a long time to do this._" I thought, opening my Omni-tool and putting on the Rock Anthem for Saving the World inside my helmet.

( Rock Anthem for Saving the World: /watch?v=JHouKE70h0E )

There was a short wait, and then suddenly I felt my stomach lurch into my chest as we fell out of the ship. The music was picking up almost perfectly. I could feel the Mako shutter as a Geth fighter grazed the shields, bumping us around. Allen looked like he was going to shit himself, and Thomas looked shell-shocked.

I let out a loud "WOOOOO!" as we zoomed towards the ground, music setting the mood perfectly.

We landed on something, which I could only guess was a tree due to all the sudden loud snapping noises that could be head outside. Despite this, we still managed to land squarely on the ground, the music stopping right on queue.

"Shepard to Normandy, we've landed." Shepard said into her comm.

"Roger that, Commander. We'll continue to evade the Geth as long as we can." Joker said, static being heard halfway through the transmission.

"Hold out as long as you can, Joker." Shepard said sincerely.

"Roger that, Commander. We'll be in touch." Joker finished, cutting the line.

…

Weigman's POV Talaven Apartments

"You're crazy." Sydney replied with a bemused expression. I just sat there, amused by John, who was pacing around the room, clutching a bottle of Tupari energy drink. She has recently patched his shoulder up, and it was wrapped in a thick bandage

"No, I'm serious." John replied in a very rushed, serious tone. He took another gulp of his Tupari, causing a slightly sour look to cross his face for a brief moment. "Area 51 studies alien technology!"

"I'm pretty sure that's not true." Sydney replied, smiling. "Those conspiracy theories are just a bunch of bull."

"You don't know that!" John shot back, taking another swig of his Tupari. "That's just what they want you to believe!"

"John, does it even matter anymore? We're not in 2011 anymore. We're over a hundred years in the future." I chimed in, hoping I could get John to shut up. "

"You don't think the Alliance keeps secrets too?" John said, pointing his bottle at me. "Every government and organization has dirty secrets and believe me, they have no regrets doing experiments on innocent people."

"You and your conspiracy theories…" Sydney drawled out, staring out the window.

"I'm not paranoid!" John yelled, eyes darting around the room.

"Alright, I think you've had enough of that stuff." I said, walking over to him and snatching the bottle out of his hand. When he tried to take it back, I got him to calm down by telling him the government puts mind-controlling drugs in it.

Once John's sugar rush wore off, he quickly fell asleep, crashing on the couch and snoring loudly.

"I hate it when he does that." Sydney commented, opening her Omni-tool. "Him and his damn sugar problems. Make sure to keep that stuff away from him."

"He acts like he's high off is ass when he has one of those." I commented, looking at the nutrition label on this side of the bottle. "This thing is 90% sugar."

"Wow. Toss me a bottle." Sydney asked, holding out her hand. Tossed her one, and she caught it with one hand.

"Thanks." She said with smirk, popping off the cap and taking a gulp. Her expression immediately went from one that had a smile to one that looked sickened to the stomach.

"You alright?" I asked, watching her shake her head as if dazed.

"God, that's like downing a bag of sugar and getting punched in the face repeatedly." She said, teeth clenched from the pain. "Dump that crap down the drain."

I decided not to try it, opening the bottles and dumping them in the sink. It made an odd gurgling sound on the way down the drain, creeping my out slightly.

"Anyway, we should talk about what happened." Sydney said, sitting down on the couch and crossing her legs. "On the Citadel."

"What about it?" I asked, walking back over and sitting in the armchair. "Cerberus tried to kill us. What else is there to say?"

"We need to find a way to send an untraceable message to the others. If they come back to that apartment and Cerberus is there, waiting for them, they're going to be in a lot of danger." Sydney explained, twiddling her thumbs.

"I don't know why that would be a problem for them. They've fought against Cerberus before." I said, folding my hands behind my back.

"That's not the point. Just because they have fought against them before doesn't make them invulnerable against some sort of trap Cerberus could have set up for them." Sydney argued, holding out her hands for emphasis.

"Good point." I agreed, rubbing my chin thoughtfully. We needed to find a way to sent an untraceable message, a message that Cerberus couldn't track, to the guys on the Normandy. Then, it suddenly hit me.

"The Shadow Broker!" I stated, pointing my finger in the air.

"The Shadow Broker? Are you sure that's a good idea?" Sydney cautioned, raising her eyebrows. "He's awfully shifty."

"He's the only person I can think of that could send a message that Cerberus can't trace." I argued. "Can you think of anything better?"

Sydney looked like she was going to say something, but she caught herself. She sat there in silence for a whole minute before finally speaking.

"We could get our Omni-tool ID's changed. They would suddenly lose us, and we could message them with the names we used online." Sydney explained, pointing to her Omni-tool.

"You want me to start calling Sean TacoWrath now?" I mocked, crossing my arms.

"Well it's better than putting our trust in the hands of the Shadow Broker." Sydney proclaimed.

"Fine." I agreed, not seeing any fault with the plan. "But we should rest and wait for John to wake up before we do it."

"Agreed" Sydney said, opening her Omni-tool and opening a virtual book.

…

Allen's POV Ilos

"Anything yet?" I asked, becoming impatient. We have been driving around for a while now, and we still haven't found anything. Joker bugged out a while ago, so we were on our own.

"We haven't been able to pick up any signals. Just be quiet." Ashley said, sounding annoyed.

I slouched back down in my seat, annoyed. As if Shepard's driving skills weren't bad enough to deal with, I had to deal with being envious of Sean's private music suite built into his helmet, and Thomas and Garrus nodding to music emanating from their visors. I had no way of listening to music silently, which pissed the hell out of me.

The red light on Sean's helmet, which signified he couldn't hear anything we were saying, shut off. He leaned forward, shaking his head.

"Uhh…anything?" He asked in a groggy voice.

"No." I replied sourly.

"Oh. OK." He dismissed, leaning back and turning his music back on.

"Asshole." I said quietly, looking away.

Suddenly, there was a loud series of beeps that starting coming from the driver's seat.

"What happened?" I asked, sitting straight and looking over. Everyone was paying attention now, even Sean.

"A huge spike of energy just popped out of nowhere!" Ash said, hammering away at the control panel. "It's emanating four clicks north of here!"

The Mako suddenly accelerated as Shepard's infamous driving skills took over. I sat there in terror as I felt myself rise out of my seat as we hit a bump, reminding me of the unpleasant experience of riding on a school bus. I felt myself lift out of my seat as we hung in the air for a moment, then smashed HARD into the ground, knocking me into the ceiling and a grenade off of my belt.

"Is everyone OK?" Shepard asked as we groaned in response. "Sorry about that. It looks like we landed in some sort of irrigation or sewer system."

"The signal isn't that far away. If we follow this we should catch up to the source of that power." Ash proclaimed from the passenger seat.

I simply shook my head, rubbing where my head collided with the ceiling and picking up the fallen grenade. Suddenly, a leather bandolier landed on the ground in front of me. I looked up to see Wrex looking down on me.

"Put your grenades in this." He said in his usual gruff voice. "I don't want to be known as the krogan battlemaster who was killed by a stray grenade."

"Thanks, Wrex." I thanked, taking the grenades off my belt and inserting them into the pouches snugly. "I've always wanted something like this."

After all the grenades were secure, I wrapped the bandolier around my chest like any good Rambo fan would, a smug smile crossing my face.

"What are those things on the walls?" I heard Ash say to no one in particular, as she stared out the windshield.

"They look like…cryogenic storage pods." Liara commented, leaning over to look as well.

"What do you think is in them?" Ash asked curiously, looking at her.

"I…have no idea." Liara replied breathlessly.

About two minutes later, we suddenly stopped again.

"Kinetic barriers!" Ash yelled, grabbing her pistol.

"It's Saren! It's a trap!" Wrex yelled, gripping his assault rifle in both hands.

"Wait…I don't think this is a trap." Shepard said calmly, looking out the windows. "Everyone pile out."

We all complied, stepping out of the Mako into the shallow water. I looked around, taking in the atmosphere. There were glowing cylinders sticking off of the walls in no particular pattern, glowing with a faint blue light around the edges. The walls were covered with thick vines and moss, overcoming any tech that had once been there. It was beautiful, but something else felt wrong. I couldn't describe it, but it felt as if something really, REALLY bad had happened there. It was…unnerving.

I looked around to see the others had similar expressions, aside from Sean, since he was wearing his helmet. They were looking up at the structures and the pods, almost gaping at them. Liara looked like she was going to both have a nerd-out and pass out.

"I…don't like this place." Wrex commented, sniffing the air. "Something bad happened here."

"I can feel it too." Sean agreed, looking around the canal. "It feels like…we're trespassing on a graveyard, or a battlefield."

Suddenly, a door opened up on the right side of the canal, revealing an elevator.

Shepard eyed up the elevator for a moment. "Alright then. Sean, Allen, Thomas, you three stay here and protect the Mako. Everyone else, come with me." Shepard commanded, as everyone followed suit.

Once everyone was piled into the elevator, the heavy doors slid shut and they all began their descent. The three of us were left there to do nothing. About five minutes later, I lost it.

"Dammit!" I yelled, kicking one of the Mako's wheels. "I really wanted to see Vigil!"

"There's no point in yelling about it, Allen." Sean said, leaning on the Mako. "If you try to argue with Shepard, you're gonna lose."

"That's easy for you to say." I replied, crossing my arms. "You always hated the part with Vigil."

"Quite the opposite." He responded, looking at me with the blank stare the helmet gave off. "I used to hate it, but I understand it much better now."

"Guys..." Thomas started as I let loose with another salvo.

"Fuck you! Why don't you say that to me without the mask?" I blared out, causing Sean to back up slightly.

"I don't need to justify my answer to you! Why should I bother when I know it's just going to make you angrier?" Sean violently retorted, pointing accusingly at me.

"Guys!" Thomas said again, still being ignored by us.

"It's because you're too much of a pussy to face me without it!" I yelled, poking his helmet hard enough to cause his head to bob.

"It's because we're in a war zone, and if there was a sniper around here, it could pop me in the head and I would be dead!" Sean replied, tapping his helmet a few times with his finger, imitating a gun shooting him.

"GUYS!" Thomas yelled, finally getting the two of us to turn around and face him.

"What!" Sean and I both yelled, looking at him with daggers.

"We have company!" Thomas yelled, pointing down the reservoir where we came from. The shield covering our rear was gone, and something else was coming.

Any anger that had existed between Sean and I suddenly evaporated. There was a wall of Geth walking in our direction, with three Armatures and one Colossus. There was no speaking as Thomas and Sean took cover behind the Mako, and I ran inside the Mako and took over the turret.

"Jesus! There's so many of them!" I yelled, firing down the chamber ripping apart the smaller Geth with the main cannon.

"Shepard, we have a problem here!" Sean shouted into the comm as he fired his BFG down the chamber as well, destroying one of the Armatures and several more ground troops.

"What's wrong, Sean?" Shepard responded seconds later.

"There's a wall of Geth behind us, and their closing in fast!" Sean yelled as the Geth started shooting at us.

"We're on our way back! Just hold off until we get there!" Shepard replied as the comm crackled and went dead.

"That's easy for her to say!" I shouted, finally taking down one of the Armatures. "She was real busy talking!"

"Shut up and shoot!" Sean ordered, as we all laid down a wall of mass accelerator rounds, ripping through the Geth ranks. The armatures started firing their machine guns, chipping away rapidly at the Mako's shields.

"The shields are down to 50%!" I yelled, taking down another Armature. "Shepard, where are you?"

The Colossus fired its pulse cannon, hitting the water next to the Mako and turning it into a cloud of steam.

"Shields are down to 25%!" I yelled, concentrating fire on the Colossus now.

The door where Shepard and the others went suddenly burst open, with everyone running out firing down the reservoir as they went.

"Everybody in! We are leaving!" Shepard yelled, jumping inside and assuming the controls once more.

"Shields are down!" I yelled as the pitter patter of mass accelerator rounds ricocheting off the hull started being heard.

Everyone just barely managed to get inside before Shepard took off. Another pulse round went off where we were just a second later.

"YEAH!" I yelled triumphantly. "Eat lead you bags of bolts!"

"My goodness." Liara said, panting heavily. "That was close."

"You're telling me." Garrus said, adjusting his visor. "One more second and we would have been scrap."

"And all your calibrations would have been for nothing." Thomas remarked, breaking the tension that had accumulated during our escape and causing several of us to laugh.

"Very funny." Garrus replied, folding his arms and staring at Thomas. "Perhaps I'll decide not to calibrate it next time and we'll all end up dead."

I noticed sunlight was pouring through the windows, hurting my eyes.

"There it is!" Ash declared, pointing at a miniature Mass Relay off in the distance. The Conduit.

"Everyone strap in, this is going to be a bumpy ride!" Shepard yelled as the Mako suddenly accelerated faster than I had ever felt it go.

"Isn't it always?" I remarked as we went down the hill, rattling my teeth all the way.

We sped past several Geth positions, who were taking potshots at us all the way. The shields were back up to full strength, so there wasn't all that much to worry about.

We eventually reached the final slope to the Conduit, when Liara noticed that it was starting to close. Shepard pushed the Mako faster that I thought possible, speeding past the positioned Geth Colossus and into the blinding light of the Conduit. There was a bright flash, a feeling of vertigo, and then nothing.

…

Sean's POV The Citadel

My head felt like it had been hit several times with a hammer, and then covered in gasoline and set on fire. I couldn't tell if it was because of the impact, the jump, or the fact that I was hanging upside down by my seat, the taste of blood in my mouth.

I looked around, focus coming back. Everyone was hanging upside down by their seats, trying to get out of their harnesses, and there was smoke coming from the turret shaft. Allen was hanging there, unmoving, by the clamps on the floor. Seeing him sent a large jolt through me, as I quickly unhinged myself and fell to the floor.

"Allen! Allen! Allen, are you OK?" I yelled, undoing the clamps on his feet. A few seconds later, he finally came around.

"Ugh…what did I have to drink last night?" He groggily replied, rolling his eyes backwards.

"Quit screwing around, man!" I yelled, slapping the side of his head. "We gotta stop Saren!"

"Wha…what!" He responded, finally coming around. "Oh shit, we gotta get going!"

By then, everyone had removed themselves from their jumpseats and were outside the Mako, getting their bearings.

"Is everyone alright?" Shepard asked, rubbing her head. "Come on, we need to head for the Citadel Tower."

I looked around the Presidium, seeing the destruction Saren and his Geth had caused. The artificial ceiling was broken and flickering in some places, while the emergency lights bathed everything else in a sickly red glow. Most of the trees were fire, and well as the lawns and flowers that lined the area. There was a noticeable absence of the fresh, clean quality it had on a normal day, which was replaced by a smoggy, choked one.

"Damn, this place was trashed." Allen commented, nudging one of the Geth we ran over with his foot. "The taxpayers are gonna be pissed."

"That's an understatement." I added, rolling my neck around and cracking it. I finally discovered that the source of the blood was my lip, which I was biting when we made the jump. It stung like a bitch, but I could handle it.

"Alright, we have to get up to the Council chambers and stop Saren from opening the Relay." Shepard said, taking her assault rifle off her back. "Everyone good?"

"Yes ma'am." We all said in unison, causing a smile to flicker over her face.

"Good. Let's get going." Shepard said in a satisfactory tone, turning and walking towards the elevator to the Presidium Tower.

**A/N: Sorry for the long delay, guys. I've been going through a lot as of late, and I've barely have the time to work on this. The next chapter will mark the end of Mass Effect 1, and the beginning of something completely different.**


	29. Battle Of The Citadel

**Please review and subscribe to my story!**

…

Sean's POV

The Citadel

"I really HATE these elevators." I remarked as we accelerated up the Presidium Tower. Outside, there was debris flying around everywhere, and the Wards were dotted with pinpoints of light, which I'm guessing were explosions from the battles raging all over the Citadel.

"I think we all agree." Tali chimed in, agreeing with me.

"Isn't there some way to make this thing go-"

Then the elevator suddenly stopped, stopping me from talking and knocking me into Wrex, who just stared at me.

"Sorry, Wrex." I apologized, patting his shoulder. He just nodded in response.

"Saren's disabled the elevators." Shepard proclaimed, putting on her helmet. "Everyone put your helmets on, we're going outside."

After everyone had secured their helmets, Shepard stood back and shot straight through the glass. The air was immediately sucked out of the elevator as the glass blew out and hung in space, suspended. We all floated to the surface of the tower, our magnetic boots securing us firmly there.

For the next few minutes, we fought through waves of Geth as we made our way up the tower. More elevators came up the other shafts and dispensed more Geth as we went, but we carved our way through them.

We worked our way to the section where we have to use the turrets against the Geth dropship.

"Geth dropship!" Tali yelled in the comm. "We can use those turrets to take-"

I took out my BFG and fired an overcharged BFG round at it while she was talking, turning it into a flaming wreck.

"-it out." Tali finished, slowly turning to look at me. I gave her a thumbs up.

"Like a boss." I remarked, watching the green cloud where the dropship once was dissipate and fade away.

After destroying the dropship, we fought up the tower farther, decimating any Geth in our way. Eventually, we reached another shaft, but instead of Geth there was a Krogan Battlemaster waiting for us.

Since there was so much adrenaline flowing through me beforehand, and I had been itching to use the knife since I took it off that last Battlemaster, I decided to do something really stupid.

"He's miiiiine!" I yelled, leaping forward with my knife in hand. The Krogan, who must not have expected someone to come at him with a knife, was completely unprepared for me when I collided with him, knocking him off the ground.

We both hung in the air as we tried to get a hold of something. I did first, using my feet to push myself at him. I connected, stabbing him in the abdomen with my knife. Even with the jet of air coming from the puncture, I couldn't tell if the Krogan was in pain. I could tell he was pissed, though. He grabbed me by the back of the helmet, slamming me headfirst into a wall a few times. I managed to escape his grip, which amazed even me since I was as dizzy as a motherfucker, and attempted to stab him again.

He caught me and managed to land several PAINFUL punches to my chest, knocking the air out of me and the knife out of my hand. I evaded him for a few seconds, then I then did something I had never done before, doing a back flip in zero gravity and landing behind the Krogan. I seized one of the air tubes connected to his helmet, pulling on it with all my might.

The jet of air coming from the tube was enough to tell me that the battle was over as he grabbed at his throat, unable to breath. Shortly later, blood could be seen coming from the end connected to his helmet as his body went limp and floated away.

"Sean! What the hell were you thinking?" Shepard yelled, running down the hall where I had fought the Battlemaster . "You could have been killed!"

"Sorry." I replied causally, retrieving my knife which miraculously hadn't flown into deep space. "It was the heat of the moment."

"Nevermind." Shepard gruffly replied. "We need to get going."

"Yes ma'am." I responded, slapping the knife back in its sheath with a silent clack.

We entered the emergency exit, squeezing inside and pressurizing the chamber. The door revealed a small maintenance hallway, with a smooth, shiny plate on the other side. Wrex busted it open, revealing we were in the Council chambers, next to the elevator.

We went past the broken fountain and the burning trees, going up the stairs to find a few more Geth waiting for us. We easily dispatched them and ran up the second set of stairs just to see Saren jump off the platform. Shepard stood there for a second, pistol raised, until Saren reemerged on his floating platform, tossing a grenade directly at us.

We all dived out of the way before it went off, landing behind cover.

"I was afraid you wouldn't make it in time, Shepard." Saren said casually from his platform, holstering his pistol.

"In time for what?" Shepard replied, chancing a look from behind her cover.

"The final confrontation. I think we both expected it would end like this." Saren answered, folding his arms. "You've lost. You know that, don't you? In a few minutes, Sovereign will have full control of all the Citadel's systems. The relay will open. The Reapers will return."

"I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve." Shepard replied confidently.

"You survived our encounter on Virmire, but I've changed since then. Improved. Sovereign has...upgraded me." Saren said, pointing at Shepard.

"You let Sovereign implant you? Are you insane?" Shepard questioned, looking out of cover again.

"I guess I should thank you, Shepard. After Virmire, I couldn't stop thinking about what you said, about Sovereign manipulating me. About indoctrination." Saren explained, ignoring what Shepard had said. "The doubts began to eat away at me. Sovereign sensed my hesitation. I was implanted to strengthen my resolve."

"Now my doubts are gone, I believe in Sovereign completely. I understand that the Reapers need organics. Join us and Sovereign will find a place for you, too." Saren offered with cool resolve.

"Sovereign's controlling you through your implants! Don't you see that?" Shepard asked, trying to get Saren to see reason.

"The relationship is symbiotic. Organic and machine intertwined, a union of flesh and steel. The strengths of both, the weaknesses of neither." Saren continued, still ignoring Shepard's reasoning. "I am a vision of the future, Shepard. The evolution of all organic life. This is our destiny. Join Sovereign and experience a true rebirth!"

"Sovereign hasn't won yet. I can stop it from taking control of the station! Step aside and the invasion will never happen!" Shepard tried explaining.

"We can't stop it! Not forever. You saw the visions. You saw what happened to the Protheans. The Reapers are too powerful." Saren said, sounding slightly more agitated.

"Some part of you must still realize this is wrong. You can fight this!" Shepard reasoned.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe there is still a chance for..." Saren finally said, when he started trembling and groaning in pain.

"The implants...Sovereign is too strong. I'm sorry. It's too late for me." Saren said weakly, still shaking.

"It's not over yet! You can still redeem yourself!" Shepard said, standing up from her cover.

"Goodbye Shepard. Thank you." Saren thanked, putting his pistol to his head and pulling the trigger. His brains flew out of his skull as he fell off his platform, plummeting through the glass and landing in the garden below with a sickening thud.

"Damn." I commented, walking over to the edge to look at Saren's remains. "That's a shitty way to go."

Shepard inserted the OSD she had received from Vigil, giving her control of the Citadel's systems.

"Vigil's data file worked. We have control." Shepard said, entering a few commands into the console.

"Commander! Commander, are you picking this up?" Joker crackled through the comm.

"Loud and clear, Joker." Shepard replied.

"Commander, I'm here with the entire Arcturus Fleet! We're ready to attack Sovereign as soon as you open the arms." Joker said with some excitement.

I didn't pay that much attention to Shepard after that. I was more focused on Saren's body, watching it studiously. He was going to come back, but I couldn't risk warning the others without drawing suspicion to myself. Shepard chose to save the Council, giving me a job afterwards.

"Sean. Make sure he's dead." Shepard told me. I nervously jumped down into the garden, carefully walking over to where Saren now laid.

I took my Plasma Cutter, putting another round into his head. His head shot to the side slightly.

"He's dead." I said, scooting slowly away from the corpse.

Shortly afterwards, there was a loud, deathly roar, followed by red light that started emanating from his corpse. It burned away his flesh, disintegrating his armor and burning him down to the bone until there was nothing left except charred bones, glowing with a red light. Saren, now Sovereign, fired a shockwave at me before I could get off a shot.

The resulting shockwave destroyed the platform, causing the others to fall into the garden. Thomas and Allen, who knew what was going to happen, were still on the upper platform. There were the first ones to fire on Sovereign.

Everyone quickly regained their composure, concentrating their fire on Saren's reanimated corpse as it literally started bouncing off the walls.

"Sean, use your BFG!" Shepard yelled, attempting to use stasis on Sovereign.

"I can't!" I yelled, inserting another heatsink into my Force Gun. "He's moving too fast for me to get a lock!"

At first, Sovereign concentrated mostly on Shepard, launching weird red energy balls at her and attempting to get close and strike her with the large claws it had. Once it figured out it couldn't do either of those things, it decided to test out everyone else.

It finally looked at me, suddenly freezing in place afterwards. It then charged at me, shaking off all the firepower I was putting in it as it ran like a bat out of hell. When it got close enough, it leapt on me, seizing me by the throat like Saren had on Virmire.

"**You have an annoying tendency to stay alive, Prothean**." It said, clutching my throat harder. Its grip was so hot, it burned. "**You and your people are gone, irrelevant. There's no point in trying to save your successors."**

"We...will fight, and...we will kick your all-mighty asses!" I yelled defiantly, taking out a grenade and arming it. "Starting with you!"

Sovereign gave me the Reaper equivalent of a shocked expression, as I shoved the grenade in his mouth and pushed him off. He landed on the ground, quickly regaining his composure and letting out a loud roar as he leapt at me once more , attempting to kill me in the blast.

I held up my arm to shield myself as the grenade went off, then darkness overtook me.

…

Tali's POV

The Citadel

"SEAN!" I yelled in horror as the grenade detonated, blowing Sovereign to pieces and Sean off his feet. He slammed into a wall, falling limp and silent.

I rushed over to Sean, not even noticing the remains of Sovereign turning to ash. I could already tell he was in bad shape.

The most noticeable was his arm, which was twisted in an unnatural position and bleeding in several places. His armor was peppered with shrapnel, blood coming out of several of the holes.

"Sean! Can you hear me!" I shouted, taking off his helmet. His face was bruised and there was blood coming out of his mouth. "Someone help me take off his chestplate!"

Wrex came over and yanked off Sean's chestplate, revealing several pieces of shrapnel that were sticking out of his chest. I applied Medi-gel to his arm and chest, just as a loud smash could be heard above me. Huge pieces of Sovereign rained though the window, as Shepard shouted for everyone to run. All Wrex and I could do was attempt to cover Sean as the bits of the Reaper rained around us.

…

About thirty minutes later, the Emergency Crews finally found us. We barely missed a piece that landed over us, protecting us from all the other bits that came though.

"Keelah, you found us!" I said, relieved that help was finally here. "Quickly, he needs help!"

"Out of the way!" An asari paramedic said, pushing her way through the two men who found us. She crouched over Sean, scanning his vitals.

"This isn't good. We need to get him to a hospital quick, or he won't survive." She said, applying more Medi-gel and signaling two more paramedics who had a stretcher ready. They lifted Sean on, carrying him out of the wreckage and into a transport that was docked with the Tower. I grabbed Sean's helmet and followed the paramedics.

We were the last ones they found, so everyone else was already in the shuttle. I was thankful to see no one had been killed. Shepard's arm was broken and Allen and Thomas both had burns, but otherwise everyone else was fine. The paramedics were hooking more medical equipment up to Sean to keep him alive, pulling out the shrapnel and applying even more Medi-gel as the shuttle took off from the Tower.

We were taken to an Alliance medical frigate where we were all examined and treated for minor injuries. The entire place was filled with people who had been attacked, their conditions all varied. Shepard had her arm treated and put in a sling and Allen and Thomas were both treated for their burns. Sean was sent to the ICU. They were nice enough to let me wait outside the room while they operated on him. Shepard eventually found me, walking over and sitting down to me.

"Are you alright, Tali?" She asked, putting her hand on my shoulder.

"I'm scared, Shepard." I said, holding in my sadness as I stared at Sean's helmet. "I'm scared he won't make it."

"Be strong. Tali. Be like him." Shepard reassured. "He will make it."

Suddenly, a doctor came out of the operating room, clutching a datapad in his hands.

"Commander, can I speak with you?" The doctor asked quickly.

"What you tell me, I want my friend to hear too." Shepard said, patting my shoulder.

"Sure. Please, follow me." The doctor said, leading us to a empty conference room. Once we were inside, we sat down.

"Your friend was in really bad shape when we got him here, Commander." The doctor said, shaking his head. "His arm was completely destroyed and shrapnel penetrated his chest cavity in several places. His lung was pierced and so were several of his arteries. Also, he received a minor concussion and several of his ribs shattered when he impacted with the wall."

"Is he going to make it?" Shepard asked with a deadpanned expression.

"We are removing what's left of his arm. There is no way we can save it now. We have given him a cloned lung and we are using cybernetics to repair the damaged arteries around his heart." The doctor explained, reading off the datapad. "He regained conscious long enough for us to explain everything. He asked if he could have a new cybernetic arm. We agreed, and said he would pay for the highest quality one we have."

"He always did like the idea of cybernetics." I said, staring down at the floor. "I just hope he gets though this alright."

"You're lucky you got him here when you did. A few more minutes, and he would have been a goner." The doctor added. "We'll keep him here until he's stable."

"About how long will that take?" Shepard asked curiously.

"About a week." He replied.

"A week?" I asked, looking up.

"It could take less than that, honestly. Your friend's body accepted the implants better than any patient I have ever seen." The doctor commented, looking at the datapad once more. "If it keeps going this way, he could be out in one week."

"That's great!" I said happily, standing up and shaking his hand. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome." He replied, nodding. "Oh, and Commander? Captain Anderson wanted to speak with you in the Communication Room on Deck 3 when you get a chance."

"I'll be right there." She replied, briskly walking out of the room.

"You can go see him now, If you like." The doctor said to me, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Just make it brief. He's going to be put under soon for the operation."

He led me back to the room, leading me inside to Sean. He was laying there quietly, hooked up to an IV drip. The stub where his arm used to be had been slathered in Medi-gel, and he had a large purple bruise on his head.

"H-hi, Tali." He said weakly, rubbing his forehead. "I'll have to remember to put padding inside my helmet when I get out of here."

"Forget about the helmet." I said, looking down at it. "I'm more worried about you."

"Yeah, sorry about that back there. I wasn't really thinking about what I was doing." He apologized. "I'm guessing Sovereign went boom?"

"Yes, it went boom." I said curtly. "And sent you flying into a wall in the process."

"Yeah, I can tell." Sean said, running his hand over his chest and wincing. "At least we stopped him."

"Ma'am, we're about to start." A doctor said.

"Worry about yourself for now." I said, putting my hand on his. "Good luck."

"You give me too much credit." He joked, smiling. "Bye Tali."

…

Allen's POV

Medical Frigate SSV Nomad

We were sitting in one of the rooms, waiting. We were treated by several Systems Alliance doctors for the burns Thomas and I suffered after we were hit dead in the chest by one of his energy waves. It was painful, but our armor absorbed the bulk of the blast. The only problem was that our armor was now melted and fused together.

"I hope Sean's OK." I said, rubbing the burns on my chest.

"Yeah." Thomas replied, staring up at the ceiling. "But there's still something I don't understand."

"What's that?" I asked.

"We avoided getting trapped on the Citadel by the Council and made it to Ilos much earlier than in the game." He said in a questioning tone.

"Yeah, so?" I inquired.

"So…how did everything end up happening like it did in the game? We didn't change anything!" He asked, looking over at me.

"I…don't know." I said, being at a loss for words. "Now that you mention it…that is kinda weird."

"Are we like…unable to change anything?" Thomas asked, running his hands though his hair.

"I don't know. We were down there for a long time before we landed in that crypt. Perhaps all our extra time was wasted looking for the damn thing." I said, holding my arms. "Well, it worked out in the end. That's all that matters."

"I guess." Thomas replied.

We sat around in silence for a little while longer, when Sean's Omni-tool started beeping.

"Huh?" I said, getting out of bed and taking the Omni-tool off his gauntlet. I opened it, checking the messages.

"What is it?" Thomas asked.

"It's a message." I said, reading it out loud. "TacoWrath, the vacation on the Five Arms has been a blast! The only bad thing that happened was three dogs attacked us, but that's about it. We've decided to visit the Terminus Systems next. Please respond with new Omni-tool ID and get Choco_Dude_48 and Alanator117 to change theirs as well. There's some sort of new glitch with the old ones. –AsianMayhem94."

"Wait, isn't that Weigman's AOL address?" Thomas asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I get it." I said, rubbing my chin. "He's using our usernames to disguise who we are. Five arms must be the Citadel, and three dogs must mean Cerberus."

"So that means Cerberus attacked John, Sydney, and Weigman and they've fled to the Terminus." Thomas came to. "Why?"

"I don't know, but it's obvious they're trying real hard not to get themselves noticed." I commented. "I guess when Sean recovers we've got to get our ID's changed, and contact him with our usernames instead of our actual names."

"And make it look like a response to that message." Thomas added.

"Exactly." I agreed, rubbing the stubble that was forming on my chin.

"Well, come on. We should get some rest." Thomas said, walking back to his bed.

"Alright." I said, putting Sean's Omni-tool back in place and getting back in bed.

The moment Thomas's head hit the pillow he was out. Not me, though. A terrible thought surged through my mind as I realized something.

Shepard was going to die in one month.

…

Sean's POV

Medical Frigate SSV Nomad

Six Days Later

I let out a loud yawn as I opened my eyes, leaning forward and stretching. My left arm felt almost like my old one, except it was made of metal and gleaned in the light projected from the bedside lamp. The surgery had gone off without a hitch, and I was feeling better that I had ever felt before. The doctor had described the arm I was wearing as a top-of-the-line combat chassis, built to withstand extreme punishment. It had a built in stun gun, OSD and Omni-tool, which made me real happy.

Everyone on the team had given me a visit over the last few days. Shepard and Ash were glad to see I was OK, Garrus dropped by with a bottle of Tupari, Liara and Allen both visited at the same time, catching me off guard. Thomas came and commented on how cool my new arm was, and Wrex retold the battle inside the Council Chambers in graphic fashion, even describing the sound of me colliding with the wall.

But no one was happier to see me alive and well than Tali. She had given me a full on hug the moment I was in range, which I gladly returned. She spent a few hours with me, as we talked about numerous things. After Allen and Thomas told me about the message we had received from Weigman, I got her help to encode our Omni-tools with new ID's and have our security software upgraded.

Today was the day they were releasing me. I opened my Omni-tool and checked for messages. Seeing there were none, I got out of bed to stretch my legs. My ribs were healed now, so I could move without having sharp pains in my chest now. The new lung they had given me felt good, too. When they had me running the day before, I had gone faster and longer than ever before. The bruise on my forehead had now turned a sickly shade of yellow.

Despite all of this, the best thing that has happened so far occurred while I was under. The Prothean had taken the time to teach me new abilities during my downtime. He taught me how to manipulate the eezo in my body to generate a singularity capable of sucking foes into another dimension. They, of course, would not survive the trip. He also taught me how to manipulate the light around myself to appear invisible, which sounded extremely useful.

I looked at the clock, seeing it was 7:00. I slipped out of my covers, touching down on the cold floor and walking over to Tali, who had fallen asleep in the same room while visiting last night.

"Rise and shine, Tali." I said, lightly shaking her shoulder.

"Oh…good morning, Sean." Tali replied, leaning up. "What time is it?"

"It's 7:00. There releasing me in one hour." I replied, sitting down next to her.

"Well, shouldn't you be getting ready?" She asked, looking at the corner where my stuff was.

"Nah, it only takes me a few minutes to put my armor on." I replied, picking up my chestplate.

"But your armor is peppered with holes." Tali said, walking over and putting her hands on the chestplate too. "Is it a good idea to still be wearing it?"

"I'm going to get it repaired, don't worry." I responded, picking up the ruined left arm piece, which was covered in dried blood and barely holding together. "Looks like I don't need this anymore. I'll just configure my armor so it seals around my shoulder."

"What are you three going to do next?" Tali asked, sitting on my bed.

"Well… Saren's gone, and the galaxy is saved. Now that we don't have to worry about Saren trying to kill us, we now have to worry about Cerberus." I said, looking out the window at space.

"Why does Cerberus want you three?" Tali asked, looking at me.

"I don't know, but apparently they've attacked some of our other friends. There were staying here on the Citadel, when Cerberus tried to kidnap them. They were forced to flee to the Terminus Systems. We plan on going out and finding them today." I recalled from the message Weigman had sent us. "But enough about us, what do you plan on doing?"

"I plan on returning to the Migrant Fleet in a few days." She said thoughtfully, pulling out the OSD we had found in the Traverse. "Do you think this is a good gift to bring back to the Fleet?"

"I think it's a great gift." I said, hugging her shoulder. "Your people did create the Geth, after all. They would love the chance to learn more about them."

"You really think so?" She asked again, sounding as if she wasn't sure.

"Be more confident, Tali. It's a good gift." I said, pulling her in closer.

"Thank you, Sean." She said quietly.

"You're welcome, Tali." I replied as we both stared out at the stars. Looking at the stars, I realized there were going to be two years before Mass Effect 2 started. I knew the path before us was dark and there were going to be hardships in the future, but I wanted to savor this moment for as long as I possibly could.

Ending Song: /watch?v=_J9GWsF_BAo (Fits Sean situation near the end. :D)

**A/N: And that folks, is the end of Mass Effect 1. It's going to be two years before we see Shepard and the Normandy again, and the gang has Cerberus on their tail. Strange things will happen, people will be met and fought, and our friends are right in the middle of it all. Stay tuned for the adventures that await.**


	30. New Beginnings

Sean's POV

Ocean City, Maryland

One Year Later

I sat on the top of the abandoned Oceanic Escorts Hotel, adjusting the eezo emitter attached to my prosthetic arm. I had my helmet off, and was taking in the good old, salty smell of Ocean City. The last time I had been here was back in 2009, before me and the others were brought here by the Protheans. After I was sure my emitter was calibrated properly, I spat out my gum and put my helmet back on.

"Thomas, are you in position?" I asked, voice amped by my NCR helmet.

"I'm ready to take the shots." He replied, acknowledgment light blinking in my HUD. "Just give the signal when you're ready."

"Good." I complemented, switching channels. "Allen, are the explosives set?"

"The fireworks display is ready, don't worry." He responded, giving me the acknowledgment light. "Waiting for your signal."

"Sydney, any irregular comm traffic?" I asked, switching the channels again.

"Nope. They have no idea what's coming to them." She replied, sounding amused.

"Alright, I'm going in." I said, jumping off the building. The force of the wind could hardly be felt as I soared down the side of the 40 story building. When I neared the 18th floor, I slowed myself with biotics, grappling to the broken holographic emitter on the side of the hotel.

I unclipped a flash grenade from my belt, throwing it with all my strength through the window. There was some startled yelling from the room when the window shattered, and more when it went off. I jumped though the window, shooting the three guards and leaving the target, Haroan Slesky, alive.

"What the fuck is going on?" He was yelling, covering his eyes with his sleeve.

I quickly forced him to the ground, taking out a pair of stun cuffs and slapping them on him. I shot a bolt of lightning from my palm out the window in no particular direction.

"Selling drugs in my vacation spot..." I mumbled under my breath.

The door suddenly swung open as three guards came out, firing their weapons wildly. I took cover behind a couch as three shots soared over my head, taking off the guard's heads.

"Good work, Thomas!" I said, his acknowledgment light going off.

"Who the hell are you people?" Haroan yelled, struggling with his cuffs as they shocked him the more he struggled. "Do you know who your dealing with?"

"Don't know, don't care." I said, adjusting the emitter again."Dead or alive, your coming with me, Haroan." I said with a smirk, pulling him off the ground. I took a smoke grenade off my belt, popping it off and dropping it. I jumped out the building with Haroan, slowing our descent as we landed in the dark, cold ocean below. The smoke bellowed out the window as the explosives went off, leveling the 18th floor and killing all the other dealers there.

"Thank you for using Allen Brand Explosives." Allen said smugly in the comm. "Have a nice day."

"Very funny, Allen." I replied, floating in the ocean with my struggling captive. "I'm ready for pickup."

"Roger that, I'm on my way." Sydney replied as the shuttle could be seen descending on my location. The doors opened as me and Haroan were pulled inside by Thomas and Allen.

"Get us outta here, Sydney." I said, grabbing a towel off one of the shelves and drying off my armor.

"Aye aye, captain." She replied sarcastically as we sped off into space. I could see flames spewing from the 18th floor of the hotel as we ascended, spreading and creating an ember glow over the ocean. Thomas secured a gag and blindfold on the now wet and cold Slesky, while Allen walked over to me.

"Not the most peaceful way to return home, huh?" Allen said, leaning on the side of the window and looking down at his handiwork.

"No, I expected flowers and roses, pecked with the kisses of a thousand beautiful Asari." I replied sarcastically, looking at him.

"That's all you were expecting?" Allen added humorously.

"Sydney, are we there yet?" I asked impatiently, turning away from Allen.

"We're pulling in now." She replied as the edges of the hanger could be seen outside. We landed with a loud thump, causing the three of us to shake slightly. We all stepped out, heading out in different directions. Thomas took Haroan to the holding cells, Sydney went back to the cockpit, and Allen returned to his quarters.

I decided to go to the Repair Bay to work on my eezo emitter, since it had been acting finicky since the last mission. I made it as far as the elevator when a loud bang resonated from somewhere on the ship.

"What the hell just happened?" I asked in the comm just a few seconds later. "Is Allen experimenting with his explosives again?"

"I don't know. Systems are showing an explosion near the left docking port." Sydney said, sounding alarmed as well.

"I'll go check it out." I said, walking away from the elevator and down to the left passage. The door to the passage opened as I neared it. Before I could react, three men wearing full armor came out and jabbed me in the neck with a stun batons. I fell to the floor in a nervous spasm, managing to mutter one thing into the comm before my vision became dark and I passed out.

"Cerberus."

…

Sean's POV

The Citadel

Current Time

"…and that should do it." I said, bumping out the final dent in my NCR helmet. "Thanks for letting my use your tools, Ash."

"No problem." She replied, looking back at my new left arm again. "You can stop showing how ballsy you are now. I think everyone here understands your tough."

"You give me too much credit, Ash." I replied, setting down the hammer that I had been using.

"I just don't want to see anyone else die." Ash said calmly. "I've seen too many people die over the last month."

"I'm tougher that I look, don't worry." I replied slyly.

"Riiiiight…." She responded, not looking amused. "You didn't look so tough hooked up to life support."

"Sorry, I was in a different place." I apologized, changing my tone. "I'm sorry you had to go through all of that."

"It's my fault my unit died on Eden Prime, and it's my fault Kaidan died on Virmire." Ash said, sitting down on a stool and holding her forehead. "Why do I keep ending up as the only one left?"

"None of those are your fault!" I said, surprised by Ash's sudden bout of guilt. "You survived because you were stronger than the rest!"

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." She agreed, removing her hand from her forehead. She stood up and held out her hand, which I shook. "Thanks for the pick-me-up."

"Anytime, Ash." I said, walking away towards Engineering.

I entered Engineering to see it was bustling with activity. Tali was in her usual spot, typing away at her station.

"Hi Tali." I said from behind her, causing her to jump again.

"Oh sorry!" I stammered out, removing my helmet for the third time. "I still have a bad habit of sneaking up on people."

"It's alright." She said calmly, turning around and looking at me. "You didn't get me nearly as much as you did last time."

"Finally getting used to me, huh?" I said in a sly tone, folding my arms.

"I haven't decided yet." She replied is a sassy tone, putting her hand on her hips. "You need something?"

"Yeah, can we talk about something? In private?" I asked quietly. "We can go to my room."

"Sure, there's nothing to fix anyway." She said, logging off the console and following me.

After yet another long elevator ride, we entered my room where me, Thomas, and Allen has stayed during our adventure with Shepard.

"What is it you need to tell me?" She asked as we both sat on the couch.

"I want to talk about us, and what will be happening while we are away." I said, placing my hands on hers. "Didn't you say your father wanted to meet me?"

"Oh, I forgot about that!" She said, energy moving through her. "Few humans are ever ASKED to go visit the Migrant Fleet, let alone allowed to go at all."

"I feel very privileged." I said with a smile. "But…after everything you've told me about him…do you really think he'll like me?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure." She said, crossing her legs. "I doubt he would invite you to the fleet just to express displeasure in our relationship."

"You really think so?" I asked, looking up.

"Yes, I believe so, Sean." She replied, leaning over and giving me a hug. "I think he will like you."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." I replied, returning the hug.

"When do you want to meet my father?" She asked, reassuming her position.

"I don't know." I said honestly. "Me and the others need to find a ship to use. Once we get settled, I guess I'll send you a message."

"How long do you think that'll take?" She asked.

"Maybe a few weeks. A month, perhaps." I responded.

"That doesn't sound too bad." She said looking down. "Oh, I have an idea!"

"What's that?" I asked, surprised by her sudden enthusiasm.

"How about I stay with you three until you get the chance to visit the Fleet?" She said with energy. "I can help get the ship up to par and, I can see more of the galaxy before I go back to the Fleet!"

"Are you sure? You have everything you need to get onto a good ship, and Cerberus is after us." I said, fearing for her safety. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I would much rather be out here, exploring with you than go back to the Fleet immediately." She said defiantly. "Besides, I want to spend more time with you."

"That's a good point." I said with a smile. "I'll discuss it with the others when they get back."

…

Illusive Man's POV

:Location Unknown:

The Illusive Man took another drag of his cigarette, blowing out the smoke with a tired sigh. His losses from the Reaper attack on the Citadel had been enormous, with several of his investors and agents dying during the attack. He had even lost his lead on the three, now six, unidentifiable people he had been investigating for the last week. Every contact he got into contact with couldn't give him any information on these people, until today.

A contact on the SSV Nomad had spotted three them being treated, and received copies of their medical reports. One in particular stood out, the one labeled "Patient 187: Sean M. *******."

The report had no personal information on it, but gave him and idea of how tough this… curiosity was.

"Mr. ******* was brought in after being caught in a HE grenade explosion. He received several puncture wounds to the chest from shrapnel, which penetrated one of his lungs and several arteries. His left arm was shattered, all bones broken and twisted apart." TIM read, silently impressed by the injuries he withstood.

"Mr. ******* was given a cloned lung and cybernetics to repair the damaged arteries, and his left arm was amputated and replaced with a Maxims X-38 Combat Chassis. The arm was paid for by the patient, the rest was paid for by Commander Catherine Shepard." The report read, as TIM took another sip of his whiskey. "Mr. ******* was released yesterday at 8:00, Citadel time."

The Illusive Man was even more agitated after reading that last line, knowing if he had known about this sooner, he could have had his agent plant a tracking chip inside the arm, or inside Sean himself. It also didn't help that his team on the Citadel was killed and the bounty hunter he hired had failed to capture them.

Even with these annoyances, he knew they would slip up sooner or later. He knew he would catch them. He would get them soon, and he ALWAYS got what he wanted in the end.

…

Sean's POV

:Location Unknown:

I was standing in the all-too familiar white void I entered every time I fell asleep. I was once again dressed completely in white, as the Prothean waited calmly of me.

"I feel you have a question." The Prothean said as I approached. "What is it you wish to ask me?"

"I just remembered… before the explosion…" I started, recalling what I had forgotten. "Sovereign called me a Prothean. Why did he call me that?"

"It's like I said before, Sean. The Reapers see us inside of you, thinking you actually are a Prothean." He restated in his calm, sleepy tone. "We both know you are not Prothean."

"Alright, I just wanted to make sure." I replied, rubbing my head. "I think the impact with the wall caused me to forget what Sovereign told me."

"I know. I have been repairing your memory in my spare time." He replied, folding his hands. "I want to share with you a device."

"A device? What kind of device?" I asked, confused.

"As you may or may not be aware of, you cannot use biotics with your prosthetic arm." He explained, holding up his hand. "Before the Fall of the Protheans, we had developed a device that could allow the projection of Element Zero over a prosthetic or inanimate surface."

On the palm of his hand, an image of the "emitter" appeared, rotating slowly. It looked like that time control device from Singularity, except for the fact that it had five pylons instead of two, and it had a center that glowed a bright blue.

"This device emits Element Zero from the fingertips to allow the use of biotics with your arm." He explained, holding the image closer to me.

"But isn't eezo toxic?" I asked, looking up at the Prothean. "Wouldn't it be a bad idea to be emitting toxic elements like that?"

"You and your friends are immune to the effects of Element Zero since you have been infused with it." He said, emitting another picture. This one was a picture of a clear, human body, with millions of little tiny blue dots all over the inside of the body.

"Is that me?" I asked, looking closely at the picture.

"Yes, these are all the points of eezo in your body." He told me, zooming into my head, where there were two glowing "plates" underneath my skull. "The biggest ones are located here."

"The most eezo in my body in inside my head?" I stammered out, feeling slightly angry.

"Have you noticed that you haven't have headaches in several months?" The Prothean asked, looking at me. "That's why."

"Wait…Element Zero is preventing my headaches?" I asked, now completely confused.

"Yes." He replied blankly.

"How does that work?" I asked.

"It's complicated." He replied, closing the picture.

I decided to drop it, and returned to the device.

"Alright, how am I suppose to make this?" I asked, looking at the image again.

"I'll teach you how to make it." He replied, signaling for my to kneel. "Be calm, Sean. This-"

"Will take a while, I know." I said, folding my hands.

"Very good." The Prothean said in an accepting tone.

…

Tali's POV

Public Transport

En Route to Illium

I shook my head, waking up slowly. I shifted in the oversized surplus jacket Sean had given me. We were heading to Illium to find one of Sean's relatives, from what Allen told me. Sean had fixed his armor himself, keeping the holes in his armor as intact as possible.

I looked over to see Thomas was still awake, playing some sort of game on his personal computer. Sean and Allen were still asleep.

"Thomas, how long have you been awake?" I inquired, looking at him. "Have you even slept?"

"No." He replied as his screen went red. "Dammit!"

"What are you doing?" I asked, confused at what he was getting so upset about.

"I'm trying to get past this helicopter, but it keeps firing missiles at me before I can get to the exit." He replied, not bothering to look as me.

"What's a helicopter?" I asked, officially lost.

"It's an old human flying device from the start of the 20th century." He responded, dying again. He quickly rubbed his forehead in frustration. "Son of a bitch..."

The transport shook as we landed, waking Allen and Sean up.

"Wha...what happened?" Allen asked, rubbing his eyes.

"We're here." I replied calmly as everyone all stood up, collecting their luggage and exiting the shuttle. Sean had to carry around his BFG inside of the case so he wouldn't attract attention.

We walked out into the bitter cold, which felt bad even through the coat Sean had given me.

"Not this again..." Allen remarked bitterly as he left the shuttle.

"Yes, again." Thomas added, taking on a similar expression.

"You two are pussies." Sean calmly said, hefting his BFG case.

Since it wasn't snowing this time, we didn't have to worry about it being too cold. We simply walked through the lobby while everyone had to get their ID's checked and scanned.

"Thanks all go to Shepard for telling ERCS to kindly leave us the fuck alone." Allen said, turning around and holding up his arms in triumph. "All they can do now is give us angry looks."

"I can deal with angry looks." I said, causing Sean to smile.

We came to Reception to find an Asari who didn't look pleased at all to see us.

"How can I help you?" She said in a dry, dead tone.

"Can you give us the address to Arthur J. ****?" Sean asked, ignoring the receptionist's disinterest.

She slowly typed in the name, as if trying to annoy us.

"Arthur J. **** is living in the Shangri Apartments, Room 1001." She replied slowly, as if in a deep sleep. She leaned over, grabbing something from under the desk. "I was told to give you these passes by Administration. They will allow you to walk in any non-restricted sections."

"Thank you." Sean said, taking the passes and walking away.

After we were out of earshot, Sean gave all of us one pass.

"That receptionist was a bitch." Allen angrily remarked, glaring back at the woman.

"Just ignore it." Sean said in a calming tone. "I've got the way linked into my HUD. Let's go."

We walked past the depressing rock gardens and the fountains into what looked like another lobby. The receptionist here didn't even look at as we neared the elevator.

"Guys...I want to do this myself." Sean quietly said, looking over his shoulder. "Can you guys rent a room while I do this?"

"Sure thing, Sean." I said, holding up my hand.

"I'll be back soon." He said quietly as he entered the elevator, the doors closing on him.

…

Sean's POV

Shangri Apartments

My head felt like it was spinning as the elevator ascended. I almost felt sick to the stomach, but the implants suppressed it.

"_Oh god, what am I going to do_?" I thought in a panic. "_What should I say_?" "_What if it isn't legit_?"

I would have those questions answered in a few seconds as the elevator reached the 10th floor.

I walked out, seeing there was only one door.

"_I guess this is the penthouse suite._" I thought, seeing the holographic name scrolling across the the top of the door. I stood there for a few minutes, until I finally rang the doorbell.

The door opened a crack, revealing a man wearing a pair of plain sweaters and trousers, and amber colored glasses. He looked like he hadn't shaved in weeks.

"Umm...hello?" He asked, looking through the crack.

I silently took off my helmet, revealing my face.

His eyes got big and watery as he looked at me in silence. We both stood there for what felt like hours, until he finally said something to me.

"Se-Sean?" He said softly, a tear running down the side of his face.

"Hi Uncle." I said, tears running down my face. The door swung open as he hugged me harder than he ever had before.

"Oh god...Sean..." He said through his tears. "It is so good to see you."

"Same here, Uncle." I said, struggling to get the words out. "I've missed you so much."

**A/N: We have preminitions, plans, reuniting, and evil plots. Decided to end the chapter on a cheery note since I had put this off since the first trip to Illium. The beginning of two long years starts as Sean and The Odd Ones Out begin their adventure.**

**Please leave a review and subscribe to my story! This is GIR, signing out.**


	31. Premonitions

Sean's POV

Shangri Apartments

"So Sean, how have things been?" Uncle asked, leading me into his suite. The walls were covered with old mask from different cultures, there were small ceramics dotting the area, and there were datapads strewn all over the tables.

"Why are you so dirty?" I asked, looking at his short beard and moustache.

"I…haven't really been taking care of myself, to be honest." He said, scratching the back of his head.

"I always did think you looked cooler with a beard and moustache." I said with a smile.

"Thank you." He said, returning my smile. "I've been here, studying things."

"What kind of things?" I asked, curious.

"You know, history, religion, all that good stuff. It's so sad barely anyone practices Roman Catholicism" He replied, picking up a datapad. "I like Turian culture, especially. But you didn't answer my question."

"Oh yeah. Things are crazier than you could possibly imagine." I said, sitting in one of the kitchen chairs.

"Try me." He challenged, giving me a smug look. "The last thing I remember is being in a hospital room, hooked up to six different types of medical equipment."

"I know." I said, thinking back to the last time I saw him alive back in Maryland. "You had to talk using a marker and a pad of paper."

"That was degrading." He said, sitting down and shaking his head. "I was in so much pain."

"I wish I had spent more time with you there, Uncle." I said, leaning my arm against the metal counter top. "It was so hard to see you like that, I couldn't bear to watch it."

"The last thing I remember it your mother's pretty face, crying on my arm as I closed my eyes." He said, staring blankly out the window. "Then, I woke up here, in this apartment."

"What did you do?" I asked, curious as to how Uncle was able to cope with this world.

"There was this thing here called a datapad, which had instructions for a job offer as a Financial Adviser for this company called Interstellar Dynamics. It also suggested that I read up on everything around me." He recalled, walking over and picking up a datapad that was sitting next to his console. He threw it at me, and I caught it. "I was a big news item here for a few days. There had even been several job offers over the last few months, but I denied them."

"When did you arrive here?" I asked, looking at the date.

"April 1." He replied calmly, walking over to the fridge and taking out a bottle of soda and a pack of salami. "Sandwich?"

"Where did you get this stuff?" I asked, surprised by the sight of two of my favorite things, NOT in synthesized form.

"I can request whatever I want, and Interstellar Dynamics delivers it to me a few days later." He said, pulling a loaf of bread out of the cupboard. "This is premium Salami from Poland, and that is Throwback Cola directly from the plant itself. It's particularly popular with the Salarians, from what I've heard."

"Wait, you're diabetic!" I said, looking curiously at Uncle. "How can you drink this?"

"I don't understand it ether." He said, taking a deep gulp of his soda. "My blood sugar counter never changes anymore. It must have something to do with this futuristic technology I see everywhere now."

"How did you manage something like this?" I asked, pouring some soda for me and my Uncle.

"I saved Interstellar Dynamics from financial downfall." He said with a smile. "They give me almost anything I ask for."

"You were never one to deny anything that was free." I replied, taking a sip of the soda with a sigh of pleasure.

"They treat me so much better than those bureaucrats treated me in the cit-" He said, freezing when he looked real closely at my arm. "Sean, what happened to your arm?"

"Umm…" I stammered, staring back and forth between my arm and Uncle.

"What have you been doing out there? I was wondering why you were wearing armor too." He asked, looking accusingly at me.

"Umm…can I tell you my story?" I said, putting my soda on the counter. He nodded.

"Alright, this is going to take a while, so get comfy." I said, clearing my throat.

…

Weigman's POV

Talaven Apartments

I woke up with a jolt of energy, feeling as if I had been shocked. I was holding my chest so tight that it had turned white. I chanced a looked at the clock, seeing it was 3:00 in the morning.

I let go, slamming back onto the mattress. I was sweating rivers, almost seeming to soak the sheets. I hopped out of bed, walking out of my room to the kitchen. I saw John and Sydney were already there, drinking hot chocolate with similar expressions on their faces.

"Did…did you guys see it too?" I asked, shaking as I spoke. They both nodded with silence. We all stood there in silence for a few moments, until John finally broke it.

"I saw… death, destruction, people being slaughtered, and thousands of those bug ships." He described, holding his forehead. "It wasn't cool, man."

"I saw something similar." Sydney added, folding her hands on the counter. "There were thousands of those ships, like the one I saw on the news last week."

"Did any of you see the Protheans?" I asked, looking at the two of them. "The one's doing that ritual?"

"Ritual?" Sydney asked, confused. "I didn't see any ritual."

"Neither did I." John agreed."What did you see?"

"There were 50 of these Protheans, wearing these special robes inside what looked like a round church." I said, doing my best to recall the memory. "There was this large monolith in the center that was emitting a loud, humming noise. They were all chanting to it as the church crumbled around them, shaking and falling to pieces. The ceiling fell in as the Reapers destroyed the church, crushing all of them. That's when the dream ended for me."

"Wow." John said, shaking his head. "That's really weird. I didn't see anything like that."

"Do you think it means something?" Sydney asked, giving me a serious look.

"I have no freaking idea." I said, sitting down and grabbing a hot chocolate. I took a deep gulp, clearing out my dry throat.

"So, when are the Three Stooges suppose to arrive?" John asked to no one in particular.

"Tomorrow." Sydney replied, taking another sip of her hot chocolate.

…

Sean's POV

Shangri Apartments

I spent a good two hours going over what had happened over the last few months. Uncle silently listened the entire time, taking in every word I was saying.

"Sean, this is absolutely unacceptable!" Uncle yelled, slamming his palms against the counter top. "How can you live with the fact that you have killed people?"

"Look, we had no choice!" I reasoned, holding up my hands. "What else were we suppose to do?"

"You could have bought an apartment or something! Almost anything was better than this!" He yelled, pointing at my arm.

"We had no money! Besides, we're not murdering people like psychotics! We are helping Shepard protect the galaxy from the Reapers!" I replied defiantly.

"But look at what happened to you!" He responded, looking at my arm again. "I don't understand how you can justify this!"

"This..." I said, holding up my arm and folding a fist. "...is the result of me destroying something that threatened the lives of every living creature in the galaxy. If I can save billions of lives at the cost of my own, I will willingly do so."

"I...just want you to be safe, Sean." He said, getting quieter. "I just got you back only to learn I might lose you again. I don't want that."

"Look Uncle, the others and I aren't going to be doing this for the rest of our lives." I reasoned calmly. "We would like to stop now, but we can't. We have to stop the Reapers before we can settle down and live normal lives."

"I can see there's no changing your mind." Uncle said, folding his arms and shaking his head. "I don't like it, but I can see that the galaxy needs you."

"I'm sorry, Uncle." I apologized, giving him a hug.

"It's alright." He replied, returning it. "I'll help you do what you need to do to beat these… Reapers."

"I will." I promised, releasing him. "Actually, I could use your help with something."

"What's that?" He asked.

"We need a ship." I said with a smile. "A real good ship."

…

Allen's POV

Shangri Apartments

"Alright, this is really starting to get boring." I said, leaning on my hand. "What's taking so long?"

"He's a member of his family." Thomas said, looking up from his Omni-tool. "Be patient."

"That's easy for you to say." I said, looking over at him. "You always have that Omni-tool to keep you occupied."

"Why aren't you using yours?" He asked, looking at my wrist.

"It's broken." I replied, trying to turn it on. "It stopped working shortly after we got the IDs changed."

"See if Tali can fix it." Thomas bluntly responded, looking back at his Omni-tool.

"Perhaps if you weren't so involved in your bullcrap, you would know that she's sleeping." I said, looking over at her. He looked over at her, laying quietly on one of the beds.

"You've been watching her sleep?" Thomas asked quietly.

"Wha- no!" I answered, cheeks turning red. "Why would I do that?"

"Oh, come off it." He said, looking up and smiling. "You think she's hot."

"Alright, she has a nice body, but I have NO interest in her." I admitted, looking at the ground. "She's in Sean's domain, anyway."

"What do you mean?" Thomas asked, looking back to his Omni-tool.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked in disbelief. "You haven't seen the way they act around together? The way they look at each other?"

"The way they LOOK at each other?" Thomas stupidly questioned.

"Come on, you must have been able to see something!" I reasoned, holding out my hands.

"Now that you mention it, they did spend a lot of time together in Engineering." Thomas thoughtfully said, rubbing his chin.

"Exactly!" I agreed. "And how upset she was after what happened to Sean!"

"Quiet down, you'll wake her up." Thomas said in a hushing tone.

"I've been awake." Tali said, startling me.

"Oh shit…" I said with a facepalm.

"Is there something wrong with the two of us being together?" Tali asked, standing up and walking over to me.

"I-I never said that!" I stammered, holding up my hands. "I'm sorry!"

"I was absolutely DEVESTATED after what happened to Sean." She said in a threatening tone. "Don't you ever bring it back up. Ever."

"Su-sure, I'm sorry." I said, putting down my hands. "I promise."

"Thank you." She replied with a sigh, looking at my wrist. "Do you still want some help with your Omni-tool?"

Before I could answer, the door swung open, showing Sean with the biggest smile on his face since he got the BFG.

"Guys!" He said, out of breath. "You would not believe what I just found!"

"You found him?" I asked, surprised by his sudden appearance.

"Yes, and more!" He said with excitement. "We have to get down to the spaceport!"

"Why?" I asked.

"I found us a ship!" He said, bolting out the door.

"Hey. Wait for us!" I yelled, jumping out of my armchair after him.

…

Sean's POV

I approached spaceport administration, my heart racing. The others were behind me, trying to keep up with me since I had longer legs.

"Sean, this better be the greatest fucking ship in the galaxy for you to make me run after eating lunch." Allen said, balancing himself on a wall.

I ignored him as I walked inside, seeing a lone Turian inside.

"Hello!" He said, taking his talons off his keyboard and folding them on the desk. "Are you the client I was told to wait for?"

"Yes. Ship tour at the courtesy of Arthur J. ****." I said, walking over. "These people are with me."

"_These people_?" Thomas quietly asked, looking at Allen and Tali.

"Alright then. Would you like to see the stats of the ship before you take the tour?" He asked, holding a datapad.

"No thanks." I refused, shaking my head.

"Alright then." He replied, standing up and putting on a coat. "If you will follow me…"

We all followed him until we reached the ship we wanted. I smiled harder than I ever had before.

"Sean…what the hell…" Allen said, dumbstruck.

"Is that…the Endar Spire?" Thomas asked.

"Yes my friends, it IS the Endar Spire." I replied, smiling. "Or at least, the Mass Effect equivalent of the Endar Spire. My uncle and I found it after he agreed to help us."

"What is an Endar Spire?" Tali asked, rubbing the top of her helmet.

"Ah, the old Alliance Hammerhead Colonization Frigate." The Turian said, ignoring us. "I heard a rumor that it's design was inspired by some old human science fiction story."

The three of us couldn't resist the temptation to laugh. We all started laughing loudly, causing the Turian to swing around and eye us up, confused.

"Umm...what?" He asked, rubbing the back of his head.

**A/N: Sorry for another short chapter. I've been busy with school as of late, and I have had NO time whatsoever to work on it. I apologize. **


	32. The Endar Spire

Sean's POV Noveria Spaceport

After we had calmed down, we followed the Turian inside the ship for the tour. The ship looked just like the one in the game, except it had a little more streamlined, Mass Effect look to it. I could tell the ship was old just by glancing at the walls. There was rust and grease in the creases, and there were large stains on the metal floors. As we made our way through, the Turian guide started talking about the ship.

"This used to be an Alliance Colonization vehicle. From what I heard, it was one of the first vessels that entered your home system's Mass Relay." He said, reading off the datapad. "It is made with Titanium A armor plating, and was equipped with two, not one, Mass Accelerator cannons, and a whole line of Pulse Lasers for missile defense. These ships were extremely difficult to build, and cost almost 10 million to make."

"Wow." Thomas said, rubbing his hands together in excitement.

"Don't get too excited." The Turian responded, tuning to face us. "After newer, more cost effective ships were designed, the ship quickly became obsolete. This ship was stripped of its weapons and converted into a towing vehicle."

"ALL the weapons were stripped?" Allen asked, sounding slightly upset.

"Yes. The ship still retains all of its armor and engine power, but other than that, nothing."

We were led to the Bridge, where we were greeted by a slew of dim, orange holographic displays. It still looked like it was designed for a whole crew. We passed the Crew Quarters, Medical Bay, Repair Bay and the Escape Pods, finally reaching something I wasn't expecting.

"This is the hanger. It's big enough to fit a shuttle and perhaps a small land vehicle. The doors are made out of the same Titanium A armor, and there are built in fire suppression systems." The Turian explained, reading off the datapad once more.

"You already talked about the Fire Suppression Systems." Allen quipped, looking over his shoulder at the Turian.

"Sorry, I'm starting to run out of things to talk about." He said, clutching his datapad with both hands. "I never expected anyone to ever consider buying this ship, so I didn't take that many notes."

"Give us a minute." I said, twirling two of my fingers in the air. Everyone formed up on me in a matter of seconds.

"Well guys, do you think we should do it?" I asked, looking into everyone's eyes.

"I don't know, It needs a lot of work." Allen said, shaking his head. "The engines don't look strong enough to move faster than a turtle."

"I can fix that." Tali quipped with determination. "Give me a few hours with them, and I can get them to work better than they did when they were first made."

"If we pool our money-" Thomas started, when I cut him off.

"No need." I said. "My Uncle offered to pay for any repairs and modifications we make on it."

"Alright then." Thomas replied, scratching his oily hair. "I can probably get the comms and the bridge controls working again if you give me some time."

"I can help repair the Weapon Systems once we get new armaments." Allen added.

"So we're all in agreement?" I asked, as everyone nodded. "Good."

I turned to face the Turian, seeing that we still looking at us.

"So will you be buying?" He asked eagerly.

"We'll take it." I said with a smile.

…

About eight hours later, things were already starting to look better. We had put on some work clothes and started working on the main systems. After I fixed the old, broken power couplings, the lights and holograms around the ship blazed in their full. The Bridge looked more like it had in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, being bathed in an orange glow from all the holographic consoles.

(Listen to this until it's finished: /watch?v=POHscfRZty8

"Thomas, what the hell is that?" I asked through the comm.

"_I got the intercom working again!_" He said with some glee. "_I decided to test it out!_"

"Well, turn it down a little bit." I said, putting a finger in my ear.

We were informed that the spaceport didn't sell any ship weapons, so we decided to buy some at Nos Astra once we went to go visit Weigman, Sydney and John. That's when it hit me.

"Guys, we have to get the ship moving soon." I said in the intercom system. "We're supposed to meet up with Weigman and the others tomorrow. How much longer until we can get this thing moving?"

"_I'm almost done with the engines back here._" Tali replied. "_Give me about half an hour and we will be ready to move._"

"That's great, Tali!" I said with some relief. I opened a private to her. "Do you need any help?"

"_Sure, I could use some help._" She agreed.

"I'm on my way." I replied, closing the channel.

I finally found my way to the Engine Room, finding Tali inside a maintenance passage.

"There you are!" I said, happy to see her. She had a huge grease mark on her faceplate. "You should probably clean that off."

"Oh, I forgot about that." She said, taking a rag and wiping off the smudge. "Thanks."

"No problem." I replied, leaning on the wall. "So, what do you need help with?"

"The coolant tanks are drained." She said, pointing at the two large cylinders hanging off the wall. "Climb up and see if you can get them off so we can put on the new ones."

I climbed up the ladder with some tools. A little while later, I finally pried the things off and inserted the new ones.

"_Sean, there's someone here to see you._" Thomas said over the intercom.

"Who is it?" I asked, dropping one of my tools.

"_It's your Uncle._" He stated blankly.

"Let him in. I'll be down in a minute." I said, climbing down and heading back to Tali.

"Hey Tali, do you have another copy of that security program you wrote for us?" I asked, ducking my head into the duct she was working in.

"Yeah." She said, focused on the engine. "What do you need it for?"

"I'm thinking about giving my Uncle a copy." I replied. "Just want to be safe."

"That's understandable, considering the fact Cerberus is after you." She replied, taking an OSD out of one of her pouches and tossing it at me. "Take it."

"Thanks." I thanked, catching is and leaving the Engine Room.

I found my way back to the Bridge, finding Thomas and Uncle taking to each other.

"No, the Krogan are the ones that can't reproduce. The Rachni are the extinct ones." Thomas said, working on one of the bridge consoles.

"Oh, I had that mixed up." Uncle replied, holding something in his hands. He turned around, noticing me. "Sean!"

"Hi Uncle." I greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see what you got." He answered, looking around the bridge. "I must admit, it looks a bit old."

"I'll look better than new by the time we're finished with it." I replied, leaning on one of the consoles. "Which may take a few weeks."

"Sean, I looked up the top-of-the-line Mass Accelerators that are compatible with this ship." Thomas spoke up, still focused on the console. "Getting two would cost the grand total of around 2 ½ million credits."

"Ahh, dammit." I replied, running my hand through my greasy hair. "We'll have to work with the others to pay for those bad boys."

"Well, I brought you something that can help you out with that a little bit." He said, taking out a credit chit and holding it up. "10,000,000 credits. Just a little insurance."

"What?" Thomas shouted, leaning up and hitting his head on the console. "Dammit!"

"Holy hell, Uncle! Where did you get that much money?" I said, surprised by the digits I had just heard.

"I decided it was time to cash in the Pepsi stock from 1933." He said with a smile.

"My god, that stock must have been worth a fortune!" I stated, looking at him in utter surprise.

"It was worth almost half a billion credits." He said, holding out the large object in his other hand. "I also wanted to give you this."

I took the object, seeing it was the Tribal Mask I had made for him in the 8th grade.

"Uncle, where did you get this?" I asked, surprised by him yet again.

"It was already in my apartment when I got here." He said with the same smile. "I wanted you to have it back."

"But I made this for you." I argued. "I wanted you to have it."

"Keep it as a reminder to stay safe." He said, putting his hand on my shoulder. "Good luck out there, Sean."

"Wait, before you go, I wanted to install something on your Omni-tool." I said, holding the OSD.

"What do you want to install?" He asked.

"It's a security program one of our friends wrote." I said, inserting the ODS into his Omni-tool. "It will keep you a little more safe."

"Alright then." He said as the installation finished. He pulled me into a hug. "Goodbye Sean. You and the others stay safe."

"Don't worry. We will." I said as he left.

"Pepsi stock from 1933 is worth almost half a billion credits?" Thomas said, standing up. "Jesus Christ."

I stood there, staring at the mask. I smiled, knowing what I had to do.

…

About an hour later, Tali had finished on the engines. She returned to the Bridge, dotted with bits of grease.

"The engines are ready for use." She said, cleaning her hands with a rag. "Have the controls been repaired?"

"Yes." Thomas sheepishly replied. "I don't know if it works, though."

"I haven't seen manual controls in a long time." Tali said, looking at the controls.

"Well, let's give it a test drive." Allen replied, sitting in the Pilot's Seat. He shifted in the seat a bit. "Man, this seat needs to be leather."

"Hey Fragglerock, pilot the damn ship." I said, leaning on his seat.

"Alright, here, all my practice at the arcade pays off." He joked, pulling back the stick.

A few seconds later, and the ship wasn't moving.

"Umm...nothing happened." Allen said with a frown.

"Allow me." Tali said, tapping the big green button on his left side. There was a resounding rumble through the ship as a result.

"I... meant to do that." Allen stated with a dumb look splattered on his face. He pulled the controls back, this time causing us to go backwards.

"Yeah, it works!" Thomas said, happy with his repairs.

"Get us out of here, Allen." I directed.

"Where exactly am I going?" He quipped, holding up his hands.

"Your heading towards the Relay." I said, pointing out the holographic icon on the window. "Take us to the Terminus, while the rest of us find out what will be what."

"Wait- what!" Allen yelled.

"Bye Allen!" Thomas and I said in unison said as we all left.

"Oh, you guys are dicks..." He said as the doors shut.

Thomas and I both laughed after the doors were closed, high fiving.

"Alright, let's figure out where to set up our stuff." I said, picking up my equipment and activating my Omni-tool.

"Sounds like a plan." Tali agreed, as we walked to the elevator. Tali punched in Deck 2, causing us to rumble down a floor.

The door opened, showing a long hallway with about four doors on each side.

"I think that Turian said these were the barracks." Thomas said, opening one of the doors. Inside, there were several bunk beds lining the walls, with lockers in the center. There were small windows going along the top of the far wall, allowing sunlight in as we left Noveria's atmosphere.

"Yep, these are the barracks." I agreed, walking over to one of the lockers and opening it. There was nothing inside except for a poster of some half-naked woman.

"Eww, is that Lady Gaga?" Thomas said, looking at the poster and then to me.

"I don't know." I replied, ripping off the poster and crumpling it up. "Check the other lockers, see if you can find anything interesting."

We searched the lockers in of the eight rooms, finding nothing.

"These lockers have already been cleaned." Tali said, closing the last one.

"Alright then." I said, brushing off my hands. "I have a plan."

"What's that?" Thomas asked, readjusting his visor.

"What we can do is clear out all these bunk beds and lockers, and assign one of these rooms to each other. The two on the ends can be for guest." I planned out.

"All of this space, for ONE of us?" Thomas quipped up. "Wow."

"What else are we going to use it for?" I asked looking him in the eye. "Besides, I'm tired of sleeping in the same room with you two snoring asses."

"You do it too!" Thomas argued.

"Calm down, it was just a joke." I said, holding up my hand. "Alright, that's one thing off the list. What should we figure out next?"

I was interrupted at the ship shuttered.

"_We just hit the Relay. Is everyone good?" _Allen asked over the intercom.

"Yep." I replied.

"Anyway, we should find a place to install a industrial-class V.I." Thomas suggested. "We need something that can process all these things meant for a full crew, not something you can get off the extranet."

"Good point." I agreed, opening up the map of the ship.

"I did spot a good place during the tour." Tali pitched in.

"Where?" I asked, looking up at her.

"If you guys don't mind not being able to use it, we could install one inside the Mess Hall." She explained, looking at me. "There's plenty of space to set up the mainframes."

"That sounds pretty good." I agreed. "We don't really need a room that big."

"Yeah, we could just set up the new synthesizers somewhere else." Thomas added, looking over my shoulder. "Somewhere like the Briefing Room."

"Sounds like a plan." I said, flipping the map around as we started walking. We went through the door on the other end of the long hallway, revealing several more rooms. "Alright, we should make Holding Cells of some sort. With the line of work we're going to be involved in, we are most likely going to be taking in prisoners."

"True." Thomas agreed as we walked. "Anything in mind?"

"I was thinking one of the storage rooms would be good." I said, bringing it up on the map. "I had this idea from Star Wars, Boba Fett's ship, the Slave One. What he had, were small little "closet" cells that restrict movement in those inside. I'm thinking we could install something similar inside one of these rooms."

"Heh, that's a good idea." Thomas said, rubbing his chin. "That way there would be no way anyone could escape?"

"Exactly." I answered, closing the map. "The other storage room would be used for...storage."

"Oh course." Thomas said, giving me a dumb look.

"I guess that's good for now." I said, closing the map. "I guess we should choose out rooms.

"Does it matter?" Thomas asked.

"Umm...no." I replied, cracking my knuckles.

…

Weigman's POV Club Eternity

"Where the hell are they?" John asked, taking another deep swig of his soda. "Their late."

"Give them some time, John." Sydney quipped, looking up from her virtual book. "Jesus, it's only been ten minutes."

John silently obeyed, folding his arms and sinking in his seat with a sour look on his face.

I sat there is silence, thinking about that dream. I wasn't going to tell the others, but I still couldn't stop thinking about it.

My mindset was disrupted when I saw the familiar sight of Sean, Allen and Thomas, along with a Quarian, walking into the bar. They quickly spotted us, walking over and sitting in the booth.

"Hey, welcome to Illium!" I said, shaking Sean's hand. "Did you enjoy the view?"

"It was... breathtaking." The Quarian said, sitting next to Sean.

"And... who are you?" I asked her.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She said sheepishly. "My name is Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya, but you can just call me Tali."

"I see. Very nice to meet you, Tali." I said, shaking her hand.

"You two." She replied gingerly.

An Asari waiter walked over with a datapad ready.

"What would you like?" She asked, clutching the datapad. "Our special tonight is Calamari Gumbo."

"Do you have any French Fries?" Allen asked almost immediately. "REAL French Fries?"

"Umm... yes we do." She said, looking through her inventory. "Will that be all for everyone?"

"I'll take a Diet Pepsi if you have it." Sean spoke up, holding up his hand.

"Sure, I'll be back with your order soon." She said, marking off the order on her datapad and walking off.

"Anyway, wait until you guys see what we got." Sean said with a wide smile.

"What is it, clouds?" John asked from across the table. "A watch?"

"It's a collection of ways to make you taller, booster seat." Sean shot back, causing us to laugh.

"Shut up Sean,I don't like it when you call me that, man." John replied, turning away and taking another sip of his soda.

"I'm sorry, booster seat. Let's just go cry about it." Sean replied, causing Allen to burst out laughing.

"Here is your order." The asari said, surprising me. She placed the soda and the fries on the table, walking away.

"Anyway, we're gonna have a lot of work to do on... this thing we got." Sean said, picking up his soda and taking a sip.

"So I'm guessing you got us a ship." I guessed, causing Sydney and John to turn towards Sean.

"Yes, we did." He answered, confirming my assumption. "It's a big, powerful ship, it just needs some repairs and re-fittings, a few renov-"

"Asshole! Stop taking the fries away." Thomas said, holding out his hands.

"I ordered these for a reason." Allen replied, looking up from his fries.

"Excuse me?" Thomas shouted to the Asari waiter. "Could we get another order of fries because my friend here is fat?"

"Very fucking funny." Allen said, looking up at Thomas. "At least I'm not as thin as a toothpick."

Thomas started laughing as Allen put more fries in his mouth in a show-off manner. Thomas took one off the plate and tossed it at him, causing Allen to flinch.

"Anyway, yeah. A few renovations, new weapons, a V.I. Core, a few things are going to be needed for this ship." Sean continued, opening the schematics on his Omni-tool. "The Bridge, Briefing Room, and Our rooms, the Entertainment Room and the V.I. Core will be on Deck 2. Maintenance Bay, Storage, Holding Cells, and Hanger Are on Deck 3. There are a few random rooms between it all, but we'll figure those out later."

"Sounds pretty sound." I said, rubbing my chin. "How long do you think this is going to take?"

"Well, there's some major rewiring we have to do around the ship. We have to buy all new weapons for the whole ship, get a new drive core..." Tali listed off, looking at the ceiling.

"Roughly around two weeks of full work." Sean finished for her.

"Sounds like we have our work cut out for us." Sydney said, leaning on the table. "This sounds like some high-grade stuff we need."

"Don't worry." Sean said, taking out a credit chit. "I have it covered."

**A/N: Things are moving along nicely now. See if you can tell what movie reference I threw in there. :) Please remember to review! This is GIR, signing out.**


	33. Repairs

…

Sean's POV

Club Eternity

"No, those rooms don't really serve any particular purpose". I explained, moving through the map. "I do know the Medical Bay is still going to be the Medical Bay."

"I can take care of that." Sydney chimed in, pointing at Sean. "Give me some time, and I can have that Med Bay operating like a top-of-the-line Alliance hospital."

"Are you sure?" I asked, looking at her. "We can pay for anything-"

"Oh, don't you worry." Sydney said with determination. "Just leave it to me."

"Umm...alright then." I finished, looking around the table. John and Allen were having some sort of argument over Asari, while Thomas was quietly eating his French fries.

"I know what we can use this extra room on Deck 2 for." Tali said, pointing it out on my map. "We could convert it into a clean room in case I ever need to perform suit repairs."

"Good point." I agreed, rubbing my chin. "We can do that."

"Have you assigned any of those Barracks on Deck 2 yet?" Weigman asked, pointing out the six rooms going along the long hallway.

"No, not yet." I answered, zooming in on one of them. "All of them are the same size, so we haven't really bothered with them yet."

"I would like the one on the left, closest to the elevator." Weigman suddenly quipped, pointing at the spot.

"Umm...OK." I agreed, labeling it. "Why do you want that room?"

"I dunno." He replied sheepishly. "When do we actually get to see the ship?"

"As soon as we're done here, I guess." I answered, turning off my Omni-tool and leaning back. "When are you going to show us your new digs?"

"I suppose after your done showing us the ship." He replied, crossing his arms and smiling.

"Deal." I replied, giving him a smug grin.

...

Tali's POV

Nos Astra Spaceport

After we were finished in the club, we took Weigman, Sydney, and John over to the ship.

"Well, what do you think?" Sean asked with a smile.

"I think it looks like you bought a giant rust bucket." John quipped, giving me a dumb look.

"It won't be like that for long." Sean replied, giving John a threatening look. "In a few weeks, it'll look good as new."

"I do admit, this thing looks really old." Weigman quipped, looking back at Sean. "Are you really sure we can fix this thing?"

"With a little bit of patience and elbow grease, I think so." Sean replied, looking at the ship with a smile.

"If you say so." Weigman replied, looking over the ship.

"Don't worry." I reassured, walking up. "I've seen ships in worse shape in the fleet. This will be easy to fix compared to those."

"Maybe for you, but what about me?" John asked, looking at me. "I don't know the first thing about science or engineering. What am I suppose to do?"

"You can start by not bitching every two seconds." Sean said in a threat, stepping in front of me.

"Alright, sorry." John replied, holding up his hands to shield himself.

"Good. Let's go." Sean replied with satisfaction as we entered the airlock into the ship.

We took another walk through the ship, looking through all the rooms. By the time we were done, we were back on the bridge.

"It looks like we have quite a project on our hands." Weigman said, closing his eyes and letting out a deep sigh. "Where do we start?"

…

Tali's POV

Endar Spire

One Week Later

The first week was tough work. We had to remove the old drive core from the ship and install a new one, which set us back by a whole day. All the bunk beds were removed from the Barracks, and a few of the lockers were left for personal storage. The rooms were assigned, but we decided we were not going to stay in the ship until it until it was repaired.

Sean helped install new components in the ship such as lights and heaters, and bought a transport shuttle and land rover, while Allen was indulging his love for heavy weapons by buying two new top-of-the-line Mass Accelerator cannons and a new Pulse Laser system. He also took the liberty of installing two torpedo launchers as well. Thomas was content in repairing and upgrading the communication suite that the ship once had and improving the weapon targeting systems.

Weigman occupied himself by installing sliding shields that go over the windows during an attack. He also helped set up a Repair Bay in the back of Deck 2. Sydney was busy cleaning and supplying the Med Bay, being in there for most of the day, installing new equipment and testing it. John found work around the place, and Sean later decided to assist me with the installation of the V.I.

"So what's wrong with having an A.I.?" Sean asked, bringing in another mainframe.

"An A.I. can, and will, eventually evolve beyond their own programming. They can eventually break their safeguards and learn freely. That's what happened with the Geth." I replied, taking the mainframe and connecting it to the others. "That's why they are so dangerous."

"There was this movie I once saw as a kid. It was about this future where robots are part of society; everyone has one to help them do whatever they need to do. They were all bound by these rules called the Three Laws of Robotics to protect humanity from their own creation. At first, there we all just built off of programming, mindless automatons that obeyed every command, but the man who first created the robots in the first place created one that could learn, dream, and think for itself. It was built with the Three Laws, but could choose not to obey them." Sean explained, bringing in the first server.

"Why would this man create something that could defy the laws meant to protect his people?" I asked, finishing on the last mainframe. "What sense is there in that?"

His very first creation was a giant super-computer called Virtual Interactive Kinetic Intelligence, or V.I.K.I. for short, to help administrate the futuristic city of Chicago. It, like you said, evolved beyond its own programming. This giant computer he had build years ago basically evolved into an A.I., but was still under the restraint Three Laws. It evolved further to believe that in order to follow the laws perfectly, it had to halt humanity's self-destructive instincts, or protect humanity from itself. She decided she had to pretty much enslave the human race."

"If you know this, then why are you asking me about it?" I responded, turning to face him. "Exactly what I described."

"See, that's not it. The man knew V.I.K.I. had evolved, and that she had him trapped him in his lab, a prisoner. He built this robot to destroy his old creation and save humanity. So, he decided to give the robot a name, Sunny, taught him the concept of emotions, and how to control them. In the end, the doctor told Sunny to kill him." John explained, sitting down on one of the benches and taking a break.

"Wh- why did he tell the robot to kill him?" I asked, surprised by the turn of events.

"It was his last lesson for Sunny, and the doctor's freedom." Sean replied, folding his hands and leaning forward. "The man made Sunny swear that he would never admit that he had told him to murder him."

"And did "Sunny" destroy V.I.K.I.?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Yes, with the help of a robot-hating Homicide detective and one of the doctors who worked at the corporation, they managed to destroy V.I.K.I. before she could take over the planet with the new series of robots." Sean answered, looking at me. "Sunny was distraught afterwards, not knowing what to do since he had fulfilled his purpose. The Detective told Sunny that he had to find his way like the rest of them. That's what the Detective thought the doctor would have wanted."

"And what did Sunny do?" I asked, looking over.

"You don't know. That's when the movie ends." Sean finished, giving me a good look. "I should get the movie. I think you would enjoy it."

"I'll...think about it." I replied, standing up. "Could you get the next server?"

"Sure." Sean agreed with a smile.

…

Sydney's POV

Endar Spire

Med Bay

I was almost finished installing the Med Gel generator in the Med Bay, making it so I wouldn't have to bust my budget on the stuff. I discovered that the floor was actually lined with lights, giving the Med Bay a calming glow when they were cleaned and turned on.

I had pretty much installed everything "mercenaries" like us would need. There were eight beds, all of which I bolted to the floor and lined with life support equipment, just in case we or someone else was ever badly wounded.

There was a set of magnetic shelves I had installed going down the middle of the Med Bay. I had painstakingly attached metal plates to the bottom of each chemical I had there so they wouldn't fall off the shelves if the ship was jarred or shaken. The shelves too, were lit up with bright lights.

I took the liberty of installing my own personal computer in there as well to organize medical reports and new treatments. In the interest of Sean's health, I also bought a spare arm in case something ever happened to his current arm, along with a Joint Machine that can recalibrate his implants if they don't work properly.

"_Sydney, are you still alive down there?_" Thomas buzzed through the intercom.

"I'm working, if that's what you're asking." I replied, taking a bottle of Neuropozyne out of its package. I looked at the bottle, remembering something.

"Thomas, when was the last time Sean had his Neuropozyne injection?" I asked, looking up at the speaker on the ceiling.

"_His what?_" Thomas questioned with that dumb tone to his voice.

"Neuropozyne injection." I repeated, louder this time. "It's the stuff that keeps Sean's arm working properly."

"_I have no idea, Sydney._" Thomas replied honestly. "_You should ask Sean directly. He's in the V.I. Core right now with Tali._"

"Alright then. I'll do that." I finished, walking over to the Comm panel and punching in the V.I. Core.

"Sean, are you there?" I asked, looking at the screen.

"_Yeah, what's up?_" He replied, showing up on the screen.

"When was the last time you had your Neuropozyne injection?" I asked, holding up the bottle so he could see it. "You need this weekly or else your implants aren't going to work properly, and you'll start suffering extreme pain."

"_Is that why my damn arm has been aching so much lately?_" He asked, letting out a sigh. "_Fine,_ _I'll be there in__ a minute._"

"Good." I replied, cutting off the call.

A few minutes later, Sean arrived, holding his hands to his eyes as soon as the door opened.

"Holy Jesus! Why the hell is it so damn bright in here?" He asked, blocking his eyes.

"Get used to it, Mole Man. I don't sit around in the dark and play video games all day like you do." I answered with a smug grin.

"Can you at least turn it down a little bit?" He asked, taking his hand away but squinting.

"No, your eyes will adjust." I replied, walking over to the counter and extracting one dosage of neuropozyne from the bottle with a needle. "Come here and take off your shirt."

Sean obeyed, walking over and taking off his shirt. I had to look at where the arm met the joint for a few seconds, wondering what it felt like to have that.

"Well?" Sean asked, still holding out his arm. "You gonna to give me the shot?"

"Can I ask, how does it feel?" I asked, looking at his arm. "Having one of those arms?"

"The arm feels just like it used to, just a bit more powerful." He replied, clenching his fist. "Why? Thinking about getting one?"

"No, I was just curious." I finished, putting his arm back in place. "This may sting a bit."

I injected the neuropozyne into the port on Sean's arm, causing him to shout in pain.

"Son of a bitch!" He yelled, holding where his arm meets his shoulder. "That stuff stings!"

"Alright, you're good until next week." I finished, ignoring Sean's complaints and discarding the needle in the waste bin. "Don't forget to take this, or you'll start developing Rejection Syndrome."

"Rejection Syndrome?" Sean repeated, sounding confused.

"It's when your body rejects the arm, and you start experiencing extreme pain as a result." I finished, picking up the bottle and showing it to him. "Trust me, the pain from the shot is nothing compared to what I've read about Rejection Syndrome."

"If you say so, doc." Sean replied in a rushed tone, putting his shirt back on and walking to the door. "Thanks Sydney."

"You're welcome." I replied with a smile. "Now get outta here before you go blind."

…

John's POV

Endar Spire

Personal Quarters

The second week had been quiet compared to the first week. There weren't nearly as many large installations, with the more minor things being worked on instead. We have been occupied doing smaller things around the ship, such as installing a Clean Room, and customizing our rooms.

I don't know exactly what the others were doing with their rooms, but I was more occupied with my room.

I had my room decked out with a sweet sound system, along with every band I had ever listened to. I was relaxing on the futon I had bought, watching Slash on my new T.V.

"_John, are you ready?_" Sydney asked through the Comm panel on the wall.

"Ready for what?" I asked, annoyed, getting up and walking to the panel.

"_Don't you remember? Sean ordered a Cleaning Service to go through the ship today._" Sydney replied on the screen, leaning on her hand. "_Oh wait, that's right. You fell asleep in those new leather chairs during our meeting upstairs ye__sterday._"

"I couldn't help it!" I said with a smile. "Those chairs are soft!"

"_What matters is they will be going through the ship today._" Sydney replied, looking at her computer as she talked. "_You need to go talk to Sean if you don't want them to go th__rough your room._"

"Shit. Alright." I finished, closing the call. I walked out of my room, walking over to Sean's room and hitting the ringer on the door. When he didn't respond, I opened the door myself.

As soon as the door opened, I saw the only light in the room came from a single light coming from a workbench, where Sean, wearing his helmet, a tank top and a pair of cargo pants, was nodding his head as he worked on his arm.

"Sean?" I asked, holding up my hand. "SEAN?"

I walked over, tapping his shoulder once. A split second later, Sean had jumped up, twisting my arm backwards and extending a blade from his arm to my throat.

"Oh shit, sorry John." Sean apologized in his robotic monotone, retracting the blade from my throat. "I didn't know that was you."

"Who the hell else would it have been?" I shouted, grabbing at my neck. "What the fuck, man! You could have killed me!"

"You surprised me. I apologize." He replied, taking off his helmet. "But why didn't you knock?"

"I did knock, you deaf beet-head!" I yelled, holding out my hands. "You were too busy rocking out to hear me!"

"I'll have to fix that later, 'cause I had that doorbell wired to my helmet." Sean replied, rubbing his chin stubble. "So...what did you need?"

"I...I wanted you to tell the Cleaning Crew to avoid my room." I asked, scratching the back of my neck and looking away. "I- I fell asleep during the meeting yesterday."

"You think I don't know that, Snorlax? Everyone in the Briefing Room could hear your dumb ass snoring all the way in the back." Sean quipped, crossing his arms.

"So, can you do it?" I asked, shifting.

"Fine, but this means you're going to pay better attention during meetings for now on, right?" Sean asked, pointing at me.

"Yeah, I guess so." I agreed, looking away from Sean. "Thanks man."

"Yeah, whatever..." Sean replied, walking back over to his workbench, flicking his blade out a few times. "That was a pretty good test..."

…

Sean's POV

Nos Astra Spaceport

"Well guys, I think we did it." I said with a smile. "I really think we did it."

"I'm digging the new paint job, Sean." Allen replied, leaning on the railing. "It reminds me of the Normandy a little bit."

"Forget the paint job, I think all the weapons sticking off of it speak for themselves." Thomas said, joining us on the rail overlooking the ship.

"It's not what's on the outside that counts." Sydney said, leaning on the wall.

"I think we all know that." Allen replied, looking back at Sydney. "God knows we put more work into the inside than the outside."

"Sean, have you picked an image or voice for the V.I. yet?" Thomas asked in a curious tone.

"Oh yeah, don't you worry about that." I replied with a smile. "I chose something special."

"What?" He asked.

"I chose the image of Bastila from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, along with a matching voice.

"Sweet." Thomas replied with a big grin.

"Did you really?" Allen asked, looking over at me. "I thought you would have chosen something like Cortana, knowing your nerdy ass."

"I actually tried to find a Cortana, but I couldn't find one." I replied, frowning. "This was the next best I could find."

"Sounds good anyway." Allen finished, looking back at the ship.

"So...are you guys ready to do the final systems check?" I asked, looking at everyone. "If there's anything out of place, we better find out what it is before we leave."

"Sounds like a good idea." Weigman answered, getting off the rail. "If everything checks out, I'm buying us all dinner at Eternity tonight."

"You're on!" Allen replied, pointing at Weigman in challenge. "Come on, Sean! Let's get to the Bridge!"

…

"_Alright, the V.I. is configured._" Tali said over the intercom. "_We are now ready for the final systems check._"

"Good." I replied with a smile. "Turn it on."

A few seconds later, a hologram appeared, showing a realistic image of Bastila Shan, floating in the air in front of me.

"Hello, and thank you for choosing the Bastila Shan V.I. Interface. You may call me Bastila. What would you like for me to do?" The hologram asked, looking at me.

"Bastila, please perform a systems check of the entire ship." I said, folding my arms.

"Performing systems check of... Endar Spire... Registry 17573745... Electrical Systems...100%... Communication Systems... 100%... Weapon Systems... 100%... Life Support Systems... 100%... Engines... 100%... Reactor Core... 100%... Auxiliary Systems… 100%... Systems check complete. Is there anything else you would like for me to do?" Bastila said,

"That's all for now, Bastila." I finished, unfolding my arms with a smile. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. If you ever require my assistance, just call my name." She replied as her hologram flickered away.

"Well, I guess Weigman owes us dinner." I said, turning around to see Weigman turning twelve different shades of red. Allen started laughing the moment he saw Weigman's face.

…

Thomas's POV

Club Eternity

"Jesus, are you guys trying to drain my bank account?" Weigman asked as we were brought another tray of drinks.

"Maybeee…." Allen replied with a wicked smile.

"Don't start doing that troll face, fats." Weigman threatened, pointing at Allen. "I fucking HATE it when you do that shit."

"You mad, bro?" Allen replied sarcastically, taking another French fry and popping it into his mouth. "Why don't you go cry about it?"

"Hey, hey, calm down guys." Sean said, halting them. "This is supposed to be a celebration, not a fight club."

"That was a terrible joke." I said, not bothering to look up from my sushi, causing Tali to start giggling. Even though I couldn't see him, I knew Sean was glaring at me.

"So…what do we do next?" Sydney asked, folding her fingers on the table and taking Sean's heat off of me. "We have guns, armor, vehicles, a ship… all we need now are a reason to use them."

"We put out contracts for work, I suppose." Sean replied, leaning on his elbow. "That's the only thing I can think of doing."

"We still have to be careful about it, though." Sydney replied, taking another sip of her coffee. "We need to go under another name besides Mortyr, because Cerberus will likely be looking for it."

"Good point." Sean agreed, taking another bite of his sandwich. "That means we need to come up with another name."

"Oh, I have one!" John suddenly said, holding his hand in the air. "How about the Inglorious Bastards?"

"Nah, it's a little too extreme for my taste." Sean replied, rubbing his chin. "It makes us sound a little too… evil, devious, I guess."

"Well, how about the Brotherhood?" Allen said through another mouthful of fries.

"That sounds REALLY stupid." I said, looking up at Allen. "That sounds like something you would name a cult or something."

"Maybe we could call ourselves the Unknowns?" Weigman chipped in. "That sounds kinda cool."

"Wait- that's perfect!" Sean said with excitement. "We are not of this world, we don't belong, and were all different…"

"So… what's your suggestion?" I asked as Sean finished.

"We are The Odd Ones Out." Sean said with a smile. "Compared to everyone else in this universe, we're odd, and we can be singled out because of it!"

"I don't think I'm odd,-" Allen started.

"That's an understatement." I said quickly in the middle of Allen statement.

"-but the name makes sense." Allen finished, glaring over at me as he did so. "I like it."

"So do I." Tali agreed, looking around at everyone. "I think it fits."

"What do you guys think?" Sean asked the rest of us.

"It's alright, I guess." John agreed, taking another sip of his soda.

"It's sound good." Weigman replied.

Sean looked at me finally. I gave him thumbs up and said "Me Gusta!"

"So we're all in agreement." Sean said with a long smile, turning on his Omni-tool. "Our new name is The Odd Ones Out."

**A/N: Finally got the ship out of the way. Sorry if the chapter may have been a little boring, but it had to be done. The next chapter will be the start of something very special, with The Odd Ones Out getting a call from someone very special. **


	34. Work In High Places

...

Sean's POV

Endar Spire

"Alright, where are we going first?" Sydney asked, jumping in the driver's seat.

"Wait, I thought I was the driver!" Allen shouted, holding his arms out in outrage.

"You didn't call it, so deal with it." Sydney replied, not bothering to look back at Allen as she started up the engines. "Where do you want to go on our maiden voyage?"

"Umm...the Citadel, I guess." I replied, scratching my neck. "I don't really wanna go to Omega."

"Sure thing." Sydney replied, taking us out of dock and out of Nos Astra. "We should have smashed a bottle of champagne on the ship before we left."

"Nah, it's all good." I replied, turning on my heel and leaving the bridge. Since I thought it would be good to be prepared for Cerberus, I have the ship outfitted with internal turrets that attack any unauthorized contacts inside the ship. The creepy thing was that it tracked me as I walked down the hallway, making me slightly nervous.

Once I reached the elevator, I stood there for a second, wondering where Tali was.

"Bastila." I said, causing a hologram to form next to me.

"What can I do for you, Sean?" She asked, nodding her head.

"Bastila, can you tell me where I can find Tali'Zorah?" I asked, staring at the hologram.

"Tali'Zorah is currently in the Maintenance Bay." Bastila answered.

"Thank you." I thanked, stepping into the elevator.

"Your welcome." She replied, fading away as the doors closed.

After stepping out of the elevator onto the 2nd Deck, I walked down toward the Maintenance Bay. I walked inside, seeing Tali struggle with something. She turned around to face me.

"Oh, hello Sean!" She said, dropping one of her tools. After kneeling down to pick it up, she looked around the room at nothing in particular, then to me. "Um...am I in your way?"

"No, no, I'm just here to fix something." I replied, brandishing my Plasma Cutter. "One of the barrels haven't been firing as of late."

"Do you need help?" She asked, holding the tool with both hands.

"I should be asking that question." I replied, looking at her shotgun, which was separated into several different pieces. "I heard you shouting bosh'tet all the way from the elevator."

"Really?" She asked in a surprised tone.

"Ha, I got you!" I said in celebration. "I knew you were having trouble with that! Do you need some help?"

"Um... sure." She replied in defeat, handing me the tool. "I've been trying for the last ten minutes to get this jammed heat sink out of my shotgun, but I just can't get the thing out."

"Let me give it a shot." I said, walking over and inserting the tool into the ejection slot. I pushed about three times until the dammed thing finally popped out.

"There you go." I said, handing the tool back to her with a smile. "Fixed."

"Thank you." She replied, staring up into my eyes.

"Your welcom-" I replied as Bastila suddenly showed up.

"Sean, you have a call in the Communications Room." Bastila said in a dull monotone.

"Who is it from?" I asked, suddenly curious, if not annoyed.

"The caller wishes to tell you that in person." Bastila replied, bowing. "He is waiting. Shall I refuse the call?"

"No, I'll be up to Communications in a bit." I replied at Bastila faded away. I looked back at Tali, slightly annoyed by Bastila's sudden appearance. "Well, I guess I'll see you later, Tali."

"Be careful." She replied as the doors closed.

…

"Alright, jack me in, Thomas." I told him, as I stood in front of the main screen. The moment I saw who it was, my heart skipped a beat.

"Is that... Admiral Steven Hackett?" Thomas said, taking the words out of my mouth.

"Um- hello sir!" I said, resisting the urge to salute. "I- um..."

"Calm down, son." Hackett replied calmly in that gruff tone of his. "No need to be formal, since your group isn't part of the Alliance."

"Um...sure." I replied, unfolding my hands. "Is...there something you would like, sir?"

"I was reading through some of Commander Shepard's after-action reports, where there were multiple references to you and your companions. You were spoken of very highly." Hackett explained, looking directly at me. "She told me personally that you were very capable in both combat and stealth missions. I have work for you if you are interested."

"Wait, you want us to do work for you?" I asked, not believing what I had heard.

"Yes." He replied gruffly. "With Shepard's recommendation, I know I can trust you and the people around you."

"Um, we would be very happy to accept jobs from you." I said, trying to regain my calm posture. "We just got a new ship and everything, I mean, sure, we could do work for the Alliance."

"Not for the Alliance, for me." He corrected, folding his arms. "I'm sure you are aware of the Reaper threat?"

"Of course." I replied, folding my hands behind my back. "It was the cause of this whole mess in the first place, even though some people are still skeptic about it."

"Exactly." He agreed. "I have a feeling the Council will soon try to deny that the Reapers exist, and I know the Alliance isn't that far behind. I need people to help me search for proof that the Reapers existed before they come back in full swing and wipe us all out."

"That sounds like a very sound plan, sir." I replied, unfolding my hands. "So what would you like for us to do?"

"I'm telling you now- you didn't hear or get any of this from me." Hackett deadpanned, giving me a serious stare. "Understood, son?"

"Yes sir." I replied calmly.

"Alright then. I have found a lead from one of my contacts inside Cerberus. I assume you know what Cerberus is?" He asked, eying me up.

"Of course, sir." I replied sternly. "We've fought them in the past."

Hackett let out a respectful *hmph*, smiling. "Good. My contact says Cerberus recovered some strange artifact that appears to predate the Protheans." Hackett laid out, sending me pictures that automatically projected themselves in front of me as Hackett talked. There was one picture of what looked like a weird, tall monolith covered in various symbols and lettering. "What I want for you to do is to sneak into the facility, steal the artifact, and blow the base to smithereens."

"Why do you want us to destroy the facility?" I asked out of curiosity. "Not that I'm complaining about destroying anything related to Cerberus."

"Cerberus gives humanity a bad name, experimenting on civilians, sabotaging our programs, they are a blight to the Alliance and everything it stands for." Hackett explained, looking down and shaking his head. "Lately, we've been losing contact with our supply ships in this cluster, and I highly suspect Cerberus of being the perpetrators. I think blowing up their main outpost in this cluster is a good enough message not to screw with us in this cluster ever again."

"Music to my ears, sir." I agreed with a smile.

"Shepard thought you would say that." Hackett replied. "I haven't had time to create a plan myself with all the work I've had to do, cleaning up our wrecked ships from the Citadel's orbit, so I've sent you all the files so your team can figure out a plan for yourselves. When you have the artifact, bring it to my contact in Shanix spaceport. He will pay you 500,000 credits for the job."

"You can count on us, Admiral." I said reassuringly.

"A lot of lives could rest on this, son. Get the job done." Hackett replied as the call ended. I stood there for a few seconds, just staring at the screen after it went dark.

"Was…was that real?" Thomas asked in disbelief.

"I…don't…know." I replied, checking the computer. Sure enough, there was a cache of files there from a Steven_Hackett. "Bastila."

"How may I serve?" She asked appearing behind me.

"Send out a system-wide announcement." I told her, turning around to face her. "Tell everyone to go to the Briefing Room."

"Yes sir." She replied, fading away. "_All crewmembers, report to the Briefing Room_."

"Let's go." I told Thomas as the files finished downloading to my arm's OSD.

"Sounds like we just got our first job." Thomas said with a smile as we left the Comm Room.

…

Allen's POV

Endar Spire

I barged into the Comm Room, seeing Sean, Thomas, and Sydney were already there.

"Alright, what's going on?" I asked in an angry tone. "I put the disk for Halo 4 in, when I get told to come here!"

"Calm down, we have a job." Sean said, waving for me to sit down.

"Really?" I asked, surprised. "We already got a job? From who?"

"I'll explain everything once Weigman, Tali, and John show up." Sean replied, leaning back in his seat and flicking his arm blade in and out. "Just take a seat."

I took a real close look at Sean's arm, when I realized something.

"Holy shit, Sean!" I said in revelation. "You have the same kind of arm that Adam Jensen has!"

He looked at his arm in confusion, then back to me. "Who?"

"Adam Jensen from Deus Ex: Human Revolution!" I said in excitement. "Your arm looks exactly like his!"

"Oh, you're right!" Thomas exclaimed, looking at Sean's arm too. "He even has the same arm blade, too!"

"Umm…OK then, I have an arm similar to someone else's. Big deal." Sean replied, turning so we couldn't see it. "Let's get back to the task at hand."

About a minute later, everyone else finally showed up, sitting down quietly.

"Alright everyone, we have our first job." Sean said with a smile. "Not just a job, but a job from Admiral Steven Hackett of the Alliance Navy."

"What the FUCK?" I yelled in shock. "Are you being serious!"

"I spoke to him myself." Sean answered, popping an OSD out of his arm.

"Who is Steven Hackett?" Weigman asked with a lost expression. "You guys are shouting about him when I don't even know who the hell he is."

"He's an Admiral in the Alliance Navy, really high on the food chain, and he's a really cool guy because he supports Commander Shepard and her warnings about the Reapers." Thomas explained, leaning back in his chair.

"Alright, thanks for explaining it." Weigman thanked, sitting in his chair. "So, can we move along to what this meeting is about?"

"Sure." Sean replied, turning off the lights. "Alright, our job it to infiltrate a Cerberus outpost, recover a object of suspected Prothean origin, and blow the base to kingdom come. First off, the object of interest, a large monolith-like structure being kept in their primary research labs."

An image of a tall, black object, covered in various markings that pulsed different shades of blue.

"Oh my god…" Weigman said quietly.

"What's wrong, Weigman?" Sean asked, stopping.

"That's….that's the monolith from my dream!" He spoke up, pointing at the picture. "That's the exact thing!"

"That's what you were talking about?" I asked, leaning forward and looking very closely at the image. "Wow."

"You think it's the same monolith from your dream, Weigman?" Sean asked.

"I know it is!" Weigman reassured, still staring at the picture.

"Well, if it is the same thing from your dream, then it's even more important that we recover it." Sean replied, switching the picture. "But we have to come up with a plan if we want to do that."

"First off, where in this outpost?" Sydney asked, holding out her hands.

"It's in the Argos Ryo Cluster, on one of the uncharted planets." Sean answered, holding his hands out and tapping the little screen on the table, changing the picture to a complex layout. "From the little I've seen of the schematics, it appears that there's a small, fake, research lab on the surface to deceive people passing by, with all the real stuff being underground. Everyone look at this and tell me if you can spot any weaknesses, shortcuts, power junctions, all that stuff."

We sat there for a while, examining the schematics, until I spotted something.

"I just noticed that they have a big ventilation junction on the surface." I said, pointing to the long shaft descending into the complex. "Perhaps we could get inside that way instead of going through the front door."

"Nice job, Allen." Sean congratulated, staring at the shaft. "That thing goes all the way to the bottom of the base, and it's unprotected too."

"Alright, we've got our entrance. Now what?" John asked, throwing his hands up.

"What we need to do next is sever their communications." Thomas said, pointing at the large communications hardwire going from their array to their comm center. "If we don't sever this before we move out, they will most likely call for help."

"And then we'll be up to our asses with Cerberus commandos." I added.

"Good." Sean complemented, pointing at Thomas. "You are in charge of disrupting communications. Your job will be to cut that this thing, and to meet back up with us."

"Reasonable enough." Thomas replied, closing his eyes and looking up at the ceiling.

"How are we getting this thing out of the base?" Sydney asked, pointing at the image of the Artifact. "I think dragging it through the base will draw a lot of attention."

"There's a shuttle bay in the back of the complex...here." Weigman replied, pointing to a fairly large room near the rear of the complex. "If we can gain control of their systems, we can take our shuttle in and take it out from under their feet."

"Alright, we have our extraction plan settled." Sean agreed, pointing at the shuttle bay. "Now, destroying the facility."

"It looks like the facility is inside a big cave." I observed, running my finger along the jagged line between the schematics and the cave. "The thing is held up by these 6 large supports, that reach the top and bottom of the cave, going strait through the facility. If we blow these supports on the top and bottom, the entire thing will smash to bits."

"Wait, I have an idea." John said, holding up his finger. "Maybe we should place some charges inside their security room to make sure we destroy any evidence that we were there."

"So we don't have them after us too quickly, right?" I asked with a smirk. "Good idea."

"I have my moments." John replied with a smile, looking at Sean.

For the next few minutes, we went over minor things such as patrol routes and times, cameras, security, all that junk. After about half-an-hour, we had our plan.

"So, are we still heading to the Citadel?" Sydney asked, standing in the doorway as everyone piled out of the Briefing Room.

"Yeah, we'll go there to get more supplies." Sean replied, putting his helmet back on. "Be ready, though."

"Why?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Cerberus is still after us." Sean replied in the loud tone his helmet gave off. "After what happened with that bounty hunter, I'm not taking any chances."

…

Greed's POV

Omega

After the last few weeks, I had finally healed after the embarrassment I had suffered at the hands of three kids, a split-lip, and a petri-dish. There was now a large scar in the middle of my hand, an I had bought a new pair of armor since my other set had been completely ruined.

The news of an attack on the Citadel was the only thing that interested me over the last few weeks other than Cinus Infurnus preforming at Afterlife while I recovered. The ship that led the attack made me slightly uncomfortable every time I saw it, as if it had some sort of affect on those who saw it.

I thought it might be a nice idea to go to the Citadel and get some quality food since all I had eaten over the last few weeks was slop that only partially resembled food.

Who knows, I night even find work there too to ease back into things.

**A/N: Short chapter is short. Sadface. Things will start to get really interesting in the next few chapters. :D**


	35. Traffic Jams

**Please remember to write a review and subscribe to my story! Thanks!**

Sean's POV

"Bastila, what's the big story on the Citadel NewsNet?" I asked, putting a new filter inside my helmet as we sped towards the Citadel.

"Big story as follows: There is still no set body count as people continue turning up dead after the devastating Geth attack three weeks ago. The Citadel fleet seemed doomed until Admiral Steven Hackett and his fleet arrived, sacrificing many of their own to save the Destiny Ascension and the Council from destruction. "

I was mildly surprised to hear that there were still people turning up dead after that battle. You would think that in the future it would be easy to find people after major battles and disasters.

"Bastila, what is the status of the engines?" I asked for the hundredth time.

"FTL engines are operation at 100%." She replied blankly. "Would you like me to update you on a three-minute basis?"

"No thank you." I sighed, leaning back in my chair and closing my eyes. I felt extremely tired today, and honestly wanted just to sleep for a few hours.

But I couldn't, because I knew that sleeping would mean I would have to go through another session with the Prothean, and I just didn't feel like it anymore.

Honestly, it was fascinating at first, but then I began to get sick of it a few weeks ago. I missed going to sleep and having dreams caused by my crazy imagination. Now going to sleep was comparable to going to school every day.

I tried negotiating with the Prothean to allow me some uninterrupted sleep, but he says that if we pause in my training, we will be unable to defeat the Reapers when they arrive.

I hefted my BFG, looking over it for anything that wasn't right. The thing was my favorite video game weapon of all time, but I still couldn't understand how it got here, or how it worked. There were very few cells left for it, and I didn't want to waste them on menial things.

At this point, It had been too useful to risk tampering with, so I inserted it lovingly back inside it's case, DNA locking it and putting it inside the secret compartment I had installed inside my room, along with the weapon schematics. They would both stay here until I ever needed them.

"Heads up, everybody! We'll be arriving at the Citadel in five minutes!" Sydney announced over the intercom, breaking the peace that had settled over my room. I sighed, walking over and picking up my armor.

…

Sydney's POV

The ship decelerated with a shutter, revealing the Citadel, which appeared a little less grand than before. There were ships crowded into "lanes" of some sorts, as small ships scoured the wreckage from the battle. They were slathering the debris with omni-gel, slowly breaking apart the wreaks.

"Well, this looks like it's gonna take a while." Allen commented, walking into the bridge and over to the weapons console. "Man, three weeks and it still looks like the battle just took place."

"There is an advisory for larger ships to take Route 34 through the debris from Citadel Control." Bastila said, appearing next to me. "Failure to comply will result in strict fines and possible jail time."

I sighed, starting to regret coming here. I steered the ship into the waiting line.

About half an hour later, my patience was gone, so gone that even my books weren't keeping me at bay anymore.

"Come on, move it!" I yelled, pounding on the side of my chair out of frustration. "Dammit, this is worse than the Harbor Tunnel during rush hour!"

"Are we still not moving?" Allen asked, looking away from his console. "Jesus, I could walk faster than this."

"This is getting on my last nerve." I replied, tapping on the armrest. "If this line doesn't start moving soon, I think we'll just shoot our way through."

"...then get shot down by the Citadel fleet, arrested, and tried for terrorism." Allen laid out is a serious tone. "Sounds like fun."

"Allen, I was being sarcastic." I replied in an annoyed tone, giving him the stink eye.

He simply rolled his eyes, looking back to the weapons console without saying anything. Things were quiet for a while, until I got bored again.

"What the hell are you doing that has you so occupied, anyway?" I asked, looking at him typing commands in rapidly.

"I'm calibrating the Mass Accelerator weapons." He replied, stopping to look over at me. "The modifications I installed on them require routine updating."

"Wait, they were brand new!" I replied out of surprise. "You installed more stuff inside of them!"

"Yeah." He replied blankly. "Most of them are tracking programs that help predict the target's flight pattern, but there's one that uses small micro bursts to propel the slug with more force."

"Wow, you really want to make sure you destroy anything we come across, huh?" I replied, looking back to the traffic and folding my hands behind my head. "I'm going to be patching you guys up a lot in the future."

"I was thinking of just calling the Mass Accelerator cannons MAC's, whatcha' think?" He asked, sounding uplifted and ignoring my comment.

"What does MAC stand for?" I asked with a smile.

"Magnetic Accelerator Cannon." Allen replied in a smug tone.

"Sounds good, but aren't the rounds propelled by mass effect fields instead of magnets?" I questioned, rubbing my hands together.

"Good point." He replied, rubbing his chin and smacking himself in the head. "Duh, it's still a Mass Accelerator, I'm thinking about the Halo novels too much."

"You and video games, never ceases to amaze me one bit." I replied, turning back to stare at the traffic.

"Hey, it's one of the more useful things I do in life." Allen replied, walking overlooking out the cockpit window.

"Useful?" I mocked, looking up at him and smiling. "Are you sure about that?"

"Hey, don't judge me!" Allen shot back playful attitude, leaning on my chair as he looked out the window. "I had the potential to become an MLG player."

"Right, and my name is Mary Sue." I replied, unfolding my hands and twiddling my thumbs out of boredom. "Being a pro gamer is about as good a lifestyle as being one of those World of Warcraft nerds who sit in their parent's basement all day eating Doritos and drinking Mountain Dew."

"Why do people look at pro gamers as such douche bags all the time?" Allen asked, looking down on me. "Some of them seriously have good lifestyles and make a lot of money off playing video games all the time."

Suddenly, Sean barged in, walking briskly over to where we were looking out on the traffic.

"What the hell is the hold up?" Sean asked, slamming his hand on one of the consoles. "It's been half an hour. Why are we not on the Citadel already?"

"The lovely Citadel control is apparently having trouble directing its freighter traffic." I replied, pointing at the ships in front of us. "We been stuck in this exact spot for at least half an hour."

"Damn it!" Sean yelled, throwing his hands up in the air. "Here we are, with an assignment of possible intergalactic importance, from one the most high ranking Admirals in the Alliance Navy, and were stuck in the middle of a God damned traffic jam!"

"Well, there's nothing I can do Sean, short of blasting our way through." I replied, looking back at him. "All we can do is wait."

"Hey, what the hell is going on there?" Allen suddenly said, pointing at something far off in the distance.

Both Sean and I suddenly focused on the area Allen was gazing at, where there were several C-Sec ships surrounding one of the Geth wrecks from a few weeks ago. There were small pinpoints of light impacting on both sides.

"Bastila, can you access the C-Sec comms?" Sean asked the computer as her hologram appeared.

"One moment..." Bastila idled as she hacked into the comms. "Connection established."

"_-ey just keep coming!_" One of the officers, a sergeant from the sounds of him, was shouting at the line opened. "_The research team is still trapped inside, and we can't reach them with all these dammed Geth firing at us!_"

"Wait, GETH?" Allen asked out of shock. "The Geth are back?"

"I don't know." Sean replied, putting on his helmet and tapping a button on the side. "That ship looks heavily damaged. It could be this "research team" that are on board reactivated some Geth disabled during the battle."

"That's not a far-off conclusion." I said, taking a pair of binoculars out from under the seat and looking at the battle. "Even though I've yet to even see a Geth in person."

"They're not the friendliest bunch around." Allen quipped. "Relationships usually involve copious amounts of gun fighting."

"No shit." Sean said, looking at Allen for a second, then looking back to the battle. "Thanks for stating the obvious, Sherlock."

"Do you think... we should try to help?" I asked, putting down the binoculars and looking up at Sean. He and Allen gave me questionable looks. "I mean... we could just sit here on our asses and wait of the bureaucrats to resole this."

"Good point." Sean replied, putting both hands on the console and staring out. "Alright."

Sean stood straight, cracking his neck and taking off his helmet. "Bastila, tell Weigman, John, and Tali to get suited up and meet me in the hanger. We're going to save some researchers."

"Affirmative." She replied, not even bothering to manifest herself. Sean then turned to me.

"You too. You're coming with us." He said, pointing at me.

"What?" I said in a whine. "Why do I have to come?"

"Three reasons." He replied, holding up three fingers. "One, you guys have never fought Geth before, two, I need you to pilot the shuttle, and three, you were the one to bring this up in the first place."

"Me and my mouth sometimes." I said, unstrapping myself from the chair and standing up. "Fine, I'll go get ready."

"Good." Sean replied, turning to Allen. "Allen, you're the designated driver until we get back. Don't scratch the paint job, alright?"

"You have nothing to fear, for I am here!" He said, getting in the chair and strapping in.

"That gives me all the reason to fear..." Sean replied in a solemn tone, heading to the hanger. "Just don't do anything stupid."

…

Weigman's POV Evergrad Shuttle

We were inside our shuttle, heading towards the Geth wreck that was under quarantine by C-Sec. Sean explained to us the situation, saying that there are researchers trapped on the ship, who may have accidentally tripped the Geth power grid, causing all functioning Geth on the ship to reactivate. Sounds like we have our work cut out for us.

"Man, I don't even know how to use these thruster things." John complained, adjusting a piece of the thruster chassis attached to his shoulder and turning to me. "How the fuck do I use this thing, man?"

"You just aim, and you fly towards your target as they automatically adjust your path." I explained, attaching the final thruster to the bottom of my boot. "Relax, your not going to fly off into deep space."

"If I do, I'll kill you." He replied with a worried expression.

"Calm yourself, John." Sean said, turning to Tali. "You can hack into their reactor when we get there, right Tali?"

"I don't see why I shouldn't be." She replied, shifting uncomfortably with the thrusters attached to her shoulders.

There was a loud thump that resonated in the ship that caused all of us to lose balance.

"Sorry!" She apologized in the cockpit. "There's debris all over the damn place."

"Do your best." Sean encouraged, strapping a Line Gun onto his back. "But make sure we get there in one piece, Sydney."

"What do you think I'm doing?" She replied, sounding slightly annoyed. "Anyway, we're pretty much there. Bastila, do you have control?"

"I am ready to pilot the shuttle as soon as you relinquish control." Bastila confirmed in the comm.

"Good." Sean said, rubbing his hands together. "Is everyone ready?"

We all nodded in unison, getting out of our seats and putting our helmets on and making sure they were secure. Bastila started counting down a few seconds later.

"Depressurization in three...two...one." She counted down as all the air was suddenly blown out of the shuttle. The blast door blew open, shooting us out of the shuttle.

The sensation was weird at first, flying though the cold space, not being able to hear anything. I chanced a look, seeing the Citadel at it's brightest. It was beautiful in a awe-inspiring kind of way.

"Thrusters...now!" Sean commanded, as we all blasted our attached thrusters and soared even faster towards the ship. As we got closer, streaks of fire started flying past us as the C-Sec and the Geth fought one another.

"Impact in ten seconds!" Sean said as we approached the breach in the hull.

We landed with a thud, our magnetic boots securing us to the hull. We quickly entered the hole, getting out of the hail of gunfire outside. We entered another room with a muffled hiss.

"Good, we made it in." John said, grabbing for the edges his helmet.

"JOHN!" I yelled, holding up my hand.

"What?" He asked in surprise, taking his hands away.

"There's no air or gravity in here! Don't take off your helmet!" I explained.

"Oh shit." He replied, taking his assault rifle off his back. "Thanks for stopping me."

"Alright, Tali and John with me, we'll shut off the reactor." Sean said, holding up a schematic of the ship. "Weig and Sydney, you two find the researchers. Their signals are coming from somewhere in storage."

"Yes sir, sir sir." John replied with sarcasm, following the two as they went to their objective.

I turned to Sydney, as we both shrugged. "Well, let's find those researchers."

We left the room, entering a large room filled with several large pylon-type things. We got closer to them, seeing that there were Geth attached to them.

"What are they doing?" I asked out of the blue.

"Sean said they use these nodes to recharge." Sydney explained, getting a little closer to one of them. "They're basically sleeping."

"Let's hope they don't wake up." I said, moving away from the node. "Come on, the longer they sleep, the better chance we have of finding those researchers."

We went through several more node rooms, until we reached a room that was completely collapsed.

"Shit, how are we supposed to get through here?" I asked, pushing in a collapsed chunk of metal with no success. I pushed more, hoping to get a result. "This is the only way that's not infested with active Geth."

"Calm down, there's got to be another way through here." Sydney said, looking around the room. "There's a window over there. Smash it and we might be able to get through to the next section."

I obliged her, grabbing a metal rod that was floating in the air and smashing the window with it. It shattered, sending dozens of micro-shards of glass flying through space. All the lights also turned red, and a loud noise could faintly be heard coming from the previous rooms.

"That's not a good noise." I said, jumping over the windowsill and holding out my hand to her. "Come on, our cover might be blown."

I pulled her through and we both ran across the corridor. The sound of the door opening behind us only motivated us to move faster.

We stopped and hid behind the corner. I chanced a look, seeing the Geth were already at the window we had smashed, searching for us.

"Come on, they don't know we're here just yet." I urged as we bolted down the hallway.

…

Five Minutes Later

We wandered around the storage rooms, searching for a life signature, when we got a call from Sean.

"How are things on your end, Sean?" I asked, still scanning with my omni-tool.

"Not too bad, to be honest." He said calmly. "All their attention must be too focused on C-Sec to search the inside of the ship for us. How about you two?"

"We're in storage, scanning for life." I replied, stopping for a second. "Nothing so far."

"Well give us a call when you find them." Sean finished as the line went dead.

We scanned for about two more minutes, when Sydney and I spotted several Geth working on a door at the end of a long hallway.

"Hold up!" I said, getting behind one of the pillars. "They must be over there."

We both took our choice weapons out, mine being a Batarian assault rifle, and Sydney's being a Batarian pistol.

"They'll see us before we get close enough." Sydney said, peeking around the corner. "How are we going to do this?"

I thought about it for a second, when a genius idea popped into my head.

"OK, we can turn off our gravity boots and launch over there using out thrusters." I said, holding up my rifle. "How's that sound?"

"Sounds great." She replied, nodding her head. "Let's do it."

We both jumped out of cover, shutting off our boots and blasting our thrusters , launching us towards the Geth. We fired at them as we flew, surprising them and blasting them to pieces. We landed a few seconds later, having killed all the Geth.

We stood there for a few seconds, not doing anything, until I went "Hell yeah!" and we both high-fived each other.

"That was pretty freakin' awesome!" Sydney said, walking over to the door and scanning it. "There inside. What should we do?"

I scanned for active Omni-tools, finding one and connecting to it.

"Hey, we're here to rescue you!" I said to the person on the other line. "Open the door!"

"Oh thank god, C-Sec finally arrived!" The person, a woman, replied. "Thank god you've arrived!"

The door opened, revealing five people wearing hazmat-ish outfits, dotted with research equipment and such. The woman who opened the door stood there for a moment, staring at us.

"Wait a second, you two aren't C-Sec!" She shouted, pointing her pistol at me. "Who the hell are you people?"

"Relax! We came here to help out!" I answered, holding up my hands. "We saw C-Sec was having trouble fighting off the Geth, so we boarded to help out!"

"How do I know we can trust you?" He replied, still pointing the pistol at me. "For all I know, you could be here just to steal our research from us!"

"If we were hear to steal your research, don't you think I would have done it by now?" I questioned.

Things were quiet for a few seconds, until she spoke up again.

"Good point." She said, lowering her pistol. "Just...get us out of here."

"You have to promises to keep C-Sec from throwing us in jail after we get out of here, OK?" I replied, grabbing my rifle from the air.

"Deal." She agreed as we moved out.

**A/N: I wasn't really expecting to write anything like this until after the mission for Hackett, but due to the mixture of procrastination and writer's block I've been going through, I've forced myself to practice writing fight scenes and sequences so the mission later will be written better. Next chapter will finish the Geth ship, and hopefully start Hackett's mission.**


	36. Helping Hand

**A/N: I'm so sorry it took so long for this chapter to come out, guys. I've been bogged down with work, new classes, and a whole bunch of family issues. I tried improving the fights scenes, so tell me what you think. Enjoy.**

...

Sean's POV

"Tali, how close are we?" I asked, peeking around another corner as we moved through the halls.

"The reactor should be down this hallway." She replied, viewing her Omni-tool. "There are active Geth signatures coming from inside."

"So what's the plan?" John asked, hefting his rifle. "Go in hard?"

"Yes, we'll go in, kill the Geth, then Tali can upload her proxy to disable the reactor." I replied, taking my Plasma Cutter off my hip. "Any objections?"

"Nope." John replied, looking slightly happy.

"Alright, let's do i-" I started, when I was cut off by the ringing of my Omni-tool. I answered quickly.

"Did you find the researchers?" I asked in a hopeful tone.

"_Yeah, we found them._" Weigman replied. "_They were a little, surprised, when they found out we were not the C-Sec rescue team they were expecting. They've agreed to keep C-Sec from throwing us in prison in exchange for getting them out of here alive._"

"Good deal." I responded with a relived sigh. "For now, stay where you are and protect those researchers. We're about to disable the reactor."

"_Affirmative._" Weig replied at the line closed.

"Alright, that's one thing out of the way." I said to Tali and John. "You two ready?

They both nodded their heads as we ran down the hallway awkwardly with the heavy footfalls of our magnetic boots. We reached the end of the hallway as the airlock flew open, revealing a Geth Juggernaut that had been waiting for us.

"Holy shit!" John yelled, jumping for cover as the Juggernaut fired a rocket directly at us.

"Oh no, you don't." I yelled, grabbing the rocket with my biotics and throwing it back at the Juggernaut with ten times as much force. The rocket collided, blowing the Geth to dozens of little pieces.

There was a lengthy pause as we all just stood there, shocked by the last few seconds, until John started laughing hysterically.

"Oh my god!" He said between gasps of air. "That was fucking incredible! Why didn't you tell me you could use the Force, Sean?"

"It's not the Force, dumb bell." I said, grabbing all the remains of the Geth and crushing them into a little ball. "I'm using biotics."

"So you're using the Force, basically." John continued, getting off the floor and standing up. "How can you do that?"

"The Force?" Tali questioned, walking up to me.

"Some old science fiction movie." I replied in haste, walking into the airlock. "Come on, guys. They must know we're coming now. Get your bearings and be ready to fight."

We entered the airlock, activating the cycle. After about ten seconds, the doors opened, revealing a massive room, with two large reactors on both sides, and Geth everywhere else.

We all sprung into action, heading off in different directions. I ran down the middle of the room in the direction of a Geth Prime, taking pot shots at me with its Revenant rifle. I took cover behind an exhaust pipe, taking my Force Gun off my back and unfolding it.

I popped out, firing and knocking the Prime off its feet, into a wall, crushing the two Geth flanking it. I quickly took out my Plasma Cutter, shooting down two Geth on the platform above who were pinning down John.

I took a glance at the Prime, seeing it had survived the shot from my Force Gun, and had gotten back up. Since it no longer had its rifle, it started charging at me.

"_PERFECT!_" I thought, quickly holstering my Plasma Cutter and extending my new Arm Blade.

The Prime quickly took a swipe at me, attempting to knock me off the ground. I leaned backwards, taking advantage of the lack of gravity, as the Geth ran right over me. As it did, I leaned quickly back up, stabbing the Geth in the back several times where it's soft, synthetic fleshy section was exposed. It looks visibly hurt, almost falling over.

Despite this, the Prime seemed to still be coming, as it turned around and tried to swipe at me again. I dodged it once more, but hadn't seen the metal rod it had in its other hand.

It swung at me, knocking the air out of me and sending me flying across the room. I quickly readjusted myself, turning to face the Prime once more and blasting the thrusters on my back.

I rocketed towards the Prime with my arm blade extended, slamming into it. My blade was embedded in its head before it could even react, causing fluids to spew from the puncture as it died.

"I win, bitch." I said with a devious smile, sheathing my blade and picking up the metal rod it had been holding. I saw a Juggernaut turning to face me, so I reeled back, throwing it with all my strength. I was surprised to see that I had thrown it with some extra force, throwing it with extreme speed.

It soared right through the Juggernaut's head, impaling it. The result afterwards was also unexpected, as the Juggernaut fired its rocket launcher after being killed, blowing apart the two Geth who had been behind it. Shortly afterwards, all gunfire ceased.

Then, a loud crash could be heard.

"Status!" I yelled, breathing heavily.

"Contacts neutralized." Tali replied, sounding very calm. "What happened?"

"Sounds like something hit the ship!" John said, as another loud crashing sound shook the ship.

"Tali, shut down those reactors." I ordered, walking over and picking up the Juggernaut's rocket launcher. "We'll secure the area."

"_What the hell was that noise?_" Weigman crackled over the comm. "_It vibrated the entire fucking ship!_"

"We don't know either." I told him, keeping a close eye on the airlock. "We've taken control of the Reactor. Uploading the virus now."

"_Good, because these researchers are getting very skittish._" Weigman replied, sounding tired. "_The sooner we get out of here, the better._"

"Understood. As soon at the lights and everything go off, make your way to the rally point." I agreed, another loud sound vibrating through the ship.

"_Alright._" He finished, cutting the call.

"Tali?" I asked out loud.

"75% completed." She replied.

"Why are we not blowing up the ship?" John asked, focused on the airlock. "Wouldn't that be easier?"

"Yes, but these Geth eezo reactors are very temperamental and explosive." Tali explained as she worked. "Blowing up this ship with so many civilian vessels nearby is too dangerous."

"Ah, that makes sense." John said as all the lights went out.

"Lights out." I said in a deep tone, switching on my night vision.

…

:unknown: POV

One minute, we were firing HE explosive grenades at the encamped Geth on the exposed hull, then suddenly all the lights go out around the ship.

"Can someone please tell me what in the hell just happened?" I barked out, still trained on the ship with my grenade launcher.

"Sarge, my scans are saying that their main reactor is offline." Officer Nimitz replied. "What should we do?"

"Alright, now's our best chance." I decided, looking at my officers. "Let's get in there, hard and fast, find those damn researchers, and get out. Understood?"

All my fellow officers shook their heads, except for Nimitz.

"You have something to add, officer?" I asked gruffly.

"What about those people we saw enter the ship earlier, sir?" Officer Nimitz asked.

"Damn, I forgot about them." I answered with some annoyance. "Alright, I don't know about them. Just be very careful when we get in there. Arrest them if you can, but if they appear to be hostile, take them out."

"Understood, sir!" Nimitz replied as we all jumped over to the ship through the vacuum.

...

Sydney's POV

"Well, there goes the power." I said, switching on my helmet's flashlight as Weigman and the researchers did the same. "We better get going."

We left the storage rooms, walking back down the hallway we came from earlier. The entire ship's blue-ish glow was completely gone, replaced by pure darkness. If it weren't for the flashlights, I probably would have started going into a panic.

"Sydney, stay in the back and keep an eye out. I don't want anything to sneak up on us." Weigman ordered as we reached the other end of the hallway. "All of you, stay between us and keep close."

"Alright." The leader of the group replied, following behind me.

"What's your name?" I asked her out of curiosity.

"Dr. Mary Franklin." She replied, sounding slightly calmer.

"What are you a doctor in?" I asked to keep everyone calm.

"Advanced Radiochemistry." She replied as we turned the corner, moving slowly. "We were studying the ways Geth use and control eezo in the hopes that we could replicate it."

"They use eezo more efficiently than we do, I'm guessing?" I assumed, as Weigman and I pulled open the door carefully so we could get through to the next section.

"Yes, they use-" She started to say, when she froze.

When we saw what was inside the next room, I felt like puking inside my mask. The room was filled with the bodies of four researchers, who were filled with bullet holes. Their faceplates were obscured by their own blood, which drifted through space in little frozen droplets. Everything was illuminated by the sickly orange glow coming from a single terminal.

"Oh my god, what happened to these people?" I asked, holding my arm over the front of my mask.

"It looks like explosive decompression." Dr. Franklin replied in disgust, walking over very carefully. "When their suits were punctured, the pressure of space caused their bodies to implode on themselves, squeezing out all their blood and freezing them solid."

"That's a really shit way to go." Weigman said, shaking his head. "It's a damn shame."

"Marcus, get what data we have off the terminal." Dr. Franklin told one of her subordinates, handing him an OSD.

The researcher walked over to the portable terminal, plugging the OSD in and mass downloading all the data.

I wearily glanced at the screen, seeing a stream of data rolling down it. A few seconds later, the screen shut off, plunging the room back into darkness.

"Alright, we have what's left." The researcher announced, handing the OSD back to Dr. Franklin.

"We need to keep moving." Weigman urged, looking at me. "Everyone stay close."

...

Thomas's POV

Ten Minutes Later

I left my room to ask Sydney about something, when I discovered everyone was gone. I walked onto the bridge, finally finding someone. That someone being Allen, who was busy watching YouTube on his omni-tool.

"Allen, where is everyone?" I asked in confusion, walking to him.

"What, how do you not know?" Allen said, looking up from his video. "Jesus, you really are a vegetable!"

I huffed at that remark, leaning on the back of his chair. "Fine, I'm a vegetable. Tell me what's going on."

Allen picked up a pair of binoculars, handing them to me. "Focus on that damaged Geth ship off in the distance." I peered through the binoculars at the wreck, seeing it was surrounded by C-Sec cruisers.

"So shit's going down?" I asked, looking back at him.

"Pretty much." He replied, leaning back in the cockpit. "Apparently, some scientists or something accidentally turned all the remaining Geth in the ship back on, and they were trapped, so Sean and the others shuttled over there to help."

"So what are we doing?" I asked, handing the binoculars back to him.

"Nothing right now." He replied, taking the binoculars and putting them back underneath of the seat. "My job is to keep the ship safe."

"So we're stuck here with our thumbs up our asses?" I asked dourly, resting my head on the back of his seat.

"Pretty much." He answered, going back to the video he was watching, where a guy in a big armored suit was blasting away civilians.

"What are you watching?" I asked, looking closely at the video. "Some sort of snuff film?"

"Nah, it's not a snuff film." He replied, looking up at me. "It's this movie called Rampage, where this guy goes crazy and started killing people with a huge, armored suit because of "over population."

"Looks really gritty." I remarked, watching the guy just mow people down. "Who directed it?"

"Uwe Boll." He answered simply, focused on the film.

"Wait, your watching an **UWE BOLL** film?" I said in disgust. "Wasn't he like the Ed Wood of the twentieth century?"

"For the most part, but this one was actually pretty good." Allen rated, still focused on the movie. "It's not really the film itself that runs the show, it's the badass suit the guy wears that steals the show."

"It is pretty awesome." I admitted, looking closely at it. "What are those, plates of vehicle armor?"

"I think so." He said, scratching his neck. "It really gives me ideas."

"What, are you going to weld bits of vehicle plating to your suit?" I asked in a slightly mocking tone. "What would be the point? You already have shielding on your suit."

"I know, but that shielding isn't going to be much help when a big explosion knocks them out and I'm stuck with a semi-thick sheet of flexible metal keeping me together." He explained, looking up at me. "Plus, I'm probably going to be defusing a lot of explosives in the future. I need something that withstands explosives better, Sean being a good example. That grenade went off roughly around... three feet away from him, and it nearly blew him to bits."

"Good point." I agreed, looking back at the suit. "And Sean was using heavy armor, too."

"Exactly." He perked up. "He would have been fucked if it weren't for that heavy armor he was wearing."

Suddenly, the radio started crackling as Sean called us.

"What's up, Sean?" Allen asked, answering.

"Send the shuttle back over, we're done here." Sean said in a exausted sigh.

"Saved the researchers?" Allen asked curiously.

"Yeah..." Sean replied, sounding out of it. "Just send the shuttle over."

...

**A/N: Remember to write a review and tell me what you think! This is GIR, signing out.**


	37. Standoffs And Interviews

Sean's POV

We slowly made our way through the hallways of the Geth ship, checking every corner before moving on. I had a slight advantage over John and Tali, because of the night vision built into my helmet. Everything was shown in a sickly green glow, becoming very bright when one of their flashlights were visible.

"Does anyone know where the hell we're going?" John asked, breathing heavily.

"Are you alright?" I asked, noticing his elevated breathing.

"I...I have Nyctophobia...a fear of the dark..." He admitted, bending over and leaning on his knees. "I'll...be alright. Don't worry."

"Are you sure?" I asked, slightly worried. "You don't sound too good."

"I haven't come this far..." He replied, pausing. "...to stop. Let's keep moving."

Eventually we reached the rendezvous point, a cargo hold with a hole just big enough for the shuttle to fit through. Weigman, Sydney and the researcher walked in shortly later, looking visually relieved.

"Good job, Weigman." I said as he approached. "Is that everyone?"

"Everyone that survived the initial assault." Weigman replied in a dour done. "What's ne-"

Weigman was interrupted as John vomited loudly inside his helmet.

"Aw, FUCK!" John yelled, holding his head in vain.

"Well... who's the one in charge here?" I asked, looking at the researchers and ignoring John.

"That would be me." A woman answered, walking over and holding out her hand. I shook it. "Dr. Mary Franklin. I'm guessing we have you to thank for this rescue?"

"I suppose you could say that." I replied, shrugging. "I just thought you all needed help."

"Well, me and my associates thank you for your assistance." She thanked, as the door on the other side of the hold suddenly exploded open, and six heavily-armored C-Sec officers rushed in with weapons drawn.

"Everybody freeze!" The leader, a sergeant from the looks of him, shouted as they closed in on us. All of us took cover, taking out our weapons and taking aim at the officers. "You are all under arrest!"

"We're not going anywhere!" I shouted in my amplified voice, looking over the crate. It was a regular Mexican standoff in here.

"Drop your weapons and get down on the ground, or we'll be forced to open fire!" The sergeant shouted, sounding completely dead serious.

"WAIT!" The doctor shouted, running out into the open and holding out her hands to both sides. "We're all on the same side here! Don't shoot!"

"Doc, who the hell are these people?" The sarge asked, still aiming his gun directly at me.

"There just hear to help! There not here to kill us or anything, just to help!" The doctor said in a reasoning tone. "Don't shoot them!"

"Are you sure?" The sarge questioned, still trained on me. "They could easily shoot us as soon as we lower our weapons."

"Listen, if me and my team wanted to kill you, we would have done it by now!" I shouted, trying to support her. "This can work out for all of us!"

There was a long, drawn out silence for a minute, when the sarge's men started getting nervous.

"Uh...sir?" One of the younger officers asked, glancing at the sergeant.

"Listen, my father is an officer back on Earth." I reasoned calmly. "I don't want to shoot a police officer, but I will defend myself if I have to."

The pause persisted a little longer, when finally the sergeant lowered his firearm, sighing.

"Fine, your free to go." The sarge replied, holstering his gun.

"We can leave?" I asked, walking out of cover.

"Yeah, your free to go." He replied, holding out his hand, which I shook. "Name's Patterson. It's the least I can do since you practically did our job for us. Besides, I would never kill a fellow officer's son."

"Glad we're all at an agreement." Weigman commented, walking out of cover. "So, what happens now?"

"Now, we'll send the researchers back to their superiors, and then we'll all have to fill out a shitload of paperwork." The sarge answered, smiling. "I suppose you'll be heading back to your ship?"

"Yes, can we please leave now, man?" John asked, walking over. "I would like to take this helmet off before my face dissolves."

"Good point." I replied, looking back at the sergeant. "Well, so long Patterson. Perhaps we'll meet again."

"Perhaps I'll buy you a beer next time." He agreed, smacking me on the back of the shoulder. "Let's hope next time we won't be pointing guns at each other."

As the sergeant turned to tend to the researchers and his own men, I hailed the Endar Spire.

"_What's up, Sean?_" Allen asked, answering.

"Send the shuttle back over, we're done here." I said, sighing.

"_Saved the researchers?_" Allen asked curiously.

"Yeah..." I replied quietly. "Just send the shuttle over."

I killed the line as I walked over to the gaping hole in the hull, staring back out into space. The lanes started moving again a few seconds later, making me smile.

"At least we accomplished something coming over here." I thought, holding the Juggernaut's rocket launcher with a smile.

The shuttle flickered into view, flying over and opening up it's hatch for all of us to step in.

Thomas's POV

I stood in the hanger, waiting for the shuttle to return with our conquering heroes on board. After a short wait, the shuttle finally returned, flying through the force field and landing.

"So, did you all have fun?" I asked as the hatch opened, revealing my scuffed-up friends.

"Get the fuck out of my way!" John yelled, running past me and inside the ship.

"Uh...what's wrong with John?" I asked, perplexed.

"He kinda...vomited inside his helmet." Sean replied, taking his own helmet off as the others, except for Tali, walked back to their rooms.

"OK..." I said, not having a reply. "So...Allen is docking the ship. I guess we'll be heading out to gather supplies?"

"That's the plan." He replied, looking around. "Allen didn't activate any self-destruct or anything, right?"

"Nah, he was busy looking up ways to improve his armor." I answered, folding my arms. "I'll see you later."

I started walking away, when I remembered something.

"Oh Sean, I forgot!" I said, jogging back over. "Shepard left a message for you in the Comm room. You should check it."

"What did it say?" Sean asked, flexing his neck.

"I don't know, I didn't open it." I replied, stretching. "It was addressed to you."

Tali's POV

"What do you think it's about?" I asked Sean as we walked briskly towards the Comm room.

"I honestly don't know." He replied, looking at me. "I hope it's not something bad."

We walked into the room, where I loaded the message. A ghostly hologram of Shepard appeared in the middle of the room.

"Hello Sean." The hologram greeted. "I'm sorry It's taken so long for this message to reach you, but you nearly disappeared after you left the Citadel. There's two things I have to tell you."

Sean and I both shot each other looks, causing me to shift nervously in Sean jacket.

"First things first. Shortly after you, Tali, and your friends left, the Council commissioned for a statue of all of us to be made and displayed in the Presidium." Shepard said with a smile. I could tell already that Sean was excited just by glancing at him.

"Wow..." Sean said with a smile.

"The second thing is, Hackett told me he has given you a mission concerning the Reapers. He couldn't tell me much more than that, but I agreed with him that you and your team are the perfect choices for the job. If I had the choice, I would be coming with you, but the Council is sending me on a mission to destroy a few pockets of Geth resistance out near the Terminus."

After Shepard said that, I saw Sean shake his head back and forth.

"_Why is he doing that?_" I thought, looking back at the hologram.

"Anyway, the others hope you're all doing well. Good luck in your mission, Sean." Shepard finished as the hologram faded away.

"Sean, are you alright?" I asked, walking over to him.

"Huh?" He exclaimed, sounding surprised. "Why, what's wrong?"

"You looked upset over something earlier." I said, rubbing his shoulder. "Is something wrong?"

He was quiet for a few seconds, until speaking up.

"I miss doing things with Shepard. I miss Garrus and the others, too." He replied, turning around. "Things were fun back when we were with Shepard."

"I miss them too." I agreed, hugging him. "Perhaps we'll get a chance to see them after Shepard returns from her mission."

"Yeah." He replied, smiling back at me. "Well, I guess after we're done gathering supplies we'll have to take the gang down to see it."

"Sounds like a plan, hotshot." I agreed in a playful tone, hugging him slightly harder.

A vibration rocked the ship, similar to that of the Normandy docking.

"Sound's like we're docked." I said, looking at Sean.

"Well...ladies first!" Sean replied in the same playful tone, as he scooped me up in both arms.

"Hey!" I yelped in surprise, as he carried me through the door, laughing. "What are you doing?"

"You make me happy, you make me feel so fine..." Sean sung with a smile.

Allen's POV

30 Minutes Later

"No, no, I want FOUR, not THREE sheets of armor." I corrected the Salarian salesman.

"Oh, sorry sir!" He apologized in a rushed tone, quickly changing the order.

"And remember, I want that delivered to Docking Bay 6, Port 17, got it?" I instructed, tapping the counter with my index finger for emphasis.

"Yes sir!" He replied, finishing the requisition. "There you go, sir. The materials you requested will be sent to your ship as soon as possible."

"Thank you." I replied, giving him an extra chit and leaving the store.

Once outside, I took a good look around. Considering this was the most busy time of the day, I was mildly surprised to see there weren't nearly as many people walking around, shopping or doing whatever.

I realized that in the game, you never really get a sense of how many people died ON the Citadel, not just in the space battle. Now that I was here, I could really tell how hard the population had been hit during the attack itself.

I let out a sad sigh, as my Omni-tool started beeping.

"Yeah Sean?" I answered, slightly annoyed.

"_Where are you?_" He asked, sounding even more annoyed than I did. "_We're all here at the entrance to the Presidium, waiting on you! Finish whatever you're doing, and get your ass down here!_"

"Fine, sorry!" I replied, remembering the time frame we had agreed on. "I'll be there in a bit."

Greed's POV

I was browsing one of the shops, searching for a new pistol to replace the one I had lost during the failed mission, when I saw something I couldn't believe.

I saw the fat one running across the marketplace, towards the elevator hub.

"No fucking way." I thought out loud, leaving the store and following him.

He returned to his group with the other two targets, along with a few others, including the petri dish. They were piling into the elevator that went to the Presidium.

I decided it would be a better idea to wait for them and see if they came back. Then maybe he could follow them.

Sean's POV

"So what's this big "surprise" you've been teasing us about, Sean?" Weigman asked, holding a satchel filled with flashbangs over his shoulder.

"You'll see in a moment." I answered with a smile.

"Yeah Sean, what's so special about this thing that it would also be located in the most boring part of the Citadel? John asked in a mocking tone, smiling.

"I told you you'll see in a moment." I replied, becoming annoyed. "Be patient, acid face."

"Hey, you never told me all the lights were going to turn off!" John protested in defense.

"Oh hush, you two." Sydney told us, making us shut up. "We have better things to argue about. For example, what do we do if some news reporter spots us and asks about our little stunt earlier?"

"We'll tell them to mind their own fucking business." Allen replied before I could.

"What he said." I answered as the elevator finally reached the Presidium.

We all plied out into the familiar setting of the Presidium, as I took in the refined air, a welcome change from the last time I was here.

I looked around, seeing that all the damage was repaired. I also noticed that there was a new statue in the middle of the lake.

"This way." I said with a smile, as everyone else followed.

"Whoa, it that..." Allen asked as we got closer.

"Yep." I replied with the same big smile.

We walked down to the statue, a scene where Shepard is in front, with the ground team, including Thomas, Allen, and me, behind her.

"Holy crap, is that me?" Thomas asked, looking closely at the statue resembling himself.

I looked at mine. I was in an epic pose, holding my BFG and wearing my NCR helmet. I was surprised, seeing myself super-imposed with everyone. They even added my prosthetic arm.

"What did you guys do to deserve statues?" John asked, sounding jealous.

"We killed a Reaper." Allen replied, shooting the stick-eye at John. "That's what we did."

"Man, that's so cool. We have a place in history now." Thomas said, rubbing his finger along the plaque that had all of our names carved on it.

"That could be any Quarian." Tali commented, walking over to her statue and examining it. "How are people supposed to know that's me?"

"I can tell it's you." I complimented with a smile, causing John to groan in annoyance.

"John, shut your goddamn mouth before I punch you in the face." Allen threatened, balling up his fist.

After Allen shut John up, we decided, after taking some pictures, to head back to the ship.

On our way through the hub to our ship, we were stopped by something I absolutely didn't expect.

"Excuse me!" A woman shouted, running to catch up with us. "Are you the people involved in the space battle today?"

I turned around to see the bain of all journalism, Khalisah al-Jilani, running up to us with that annoying little camera/drone thing of hers.

"_Told you._" Sydney whispered behind me, making a vein on my neck pulse.

"Out of all the people who survived the attack..." Allen commented, folding his arms.

"Yes..." I confirmed as she caught up with us.

"Khalisah al-Jilani, Westerlund News." She greeted, holding out her hand for me to shake. After I didn't shake it, a few seconds later she put it down.

"I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for our viewers today." She asked, taking out a datapad.

Me, knowing that this was going to turn out negatively for me no matter how I handled it, decided to do the damn interview. Besides, no one could see my face anyway.

"Stand back, guys." I told everyone else as I stepped forward. "What kind of questions?"

"People have heard wild stories about you're team's involvement with the Spectre Commander Shepard, and more recently you're assistance with C-Sec's Geth ship crisis earlier today. Now's your team's chance to set the record straight." She said, sounding slightly snide.

"I'll speak for my crew, thank you very much." I said, folding my arms.

"Very well, then." She replied, unfazed by my anti-social attitude towards her, as she stared down at her datapad. "According to reports, you're team, Mortyr, as you call it, was part of Commander Shepard's crew during the hunt for the rouge Spectre Saren. How did you come to be part of the first human Spectre's crew?"

"We became part of the Commander's crew because we helped her retrieve data that proved Saren was a traitor. We also displayed exceptional combat prowess during the retrieval of said data." I replied in the most professional tone I could muster considering who I was dealing with.

"But how do soldiers of fortune like yourselves come to be accepted on a advance Alliance warship? That could be a huge, careless security risk for the Alliance." Khalisah al-Jilani scrutinized, eyebrows cocked in fake suspicion.

"The Commander allowed us on her ship because she trusted us well enough to do so. The very concept of betraying the Alliance, let alone the Commander herself, is extremely insulting to me and my crew. Also, we didn't help her because of money. We helped her because I was the right thing to do." I answered in a tone that got progressively more angry. I could tell that I had an impression, because Jilani backed-up slightly as I neared the end of my statement.

"Must be the helmet." I thought, smiling.

"You and your team members have been super-imposed on a new statue in the Presidium, celebrating Shepard's role in the defeat of Saren. How do you feel about becoming part of the Citadel's history?" She asked, sounding slightly less snide this time.

"It's an incredible honor to be part of something like that, but It will never beat actually being on Shepard's team itself." I replied in a more relaxed tone.

"Ah yes, her "team". Khalisah al-Jilani repeated, returning to her snide tone again. She looked real hard at her datapad this time, making me suspicions as to what was coming next. "Shepard's team was composed not only of humans, but several other species as well. How did it feel to work along side a militaristic Turain, a violent Krogan, and a deceitful-"

At that point, I couldn't keep my composure as I unfolded my arms, stepping towards the reporter, which cut her off.

"I'm sorry, what were you going to say?" I questioned as she started backing up as I got closer. "I hope you weren't going to say Quarian, Ms. Al-Jilani."

"I...uh..." She stammered as she tripped, falling backwards right onto her ass.

"...and for the record..." I said, looking directly at the camera drone, and back to her. "Why don't you try calling them by their actual names, and WITHOUT the petty insults? Garrus Vakarian, Urdnot Wrex, Liara T'Soni, and Tali Zorah nar Rayya." I named off, looking over at Tali as I spoke her name. "All of these individuals are and always will be members of Shepard's crew. What does it matter that they belong to different races?"

Al-Jilani didn't reply as she sat on the floor, giving me the stink eye. There was now a small crowd around us, watching. I continued on my rant.

"If all your going to do is try to appeal to the so-called "popular" human opinion, then why don't you try talking to Terra Firma or Cerberus? I'm sure the people dumb enough to believe your interviews would agree with their biased views." I yelled, making her stink eye disappear, replacing it with a look of fear.

I turned around, looking back at my teammates, seeing them give me approving looks. I then tuned back to Al-Jilani.

"This so-called "interview" is over." I announced, tuning around and signaling for us to head back to the ship. We made it as far as three meters before Al-Jilani had to stand up to make another fucking comment.

"Your all in the pocket of the Council!" She shouted with all the courage she could muster.

That was it for me. I turned around, dashing towards her with my fist balled up. Since I knew punching her with my prosthetic arm could possibly crack her skull, I instead punched her with my normal arm so I wouldn't go to jail. Despite the fact that my left arm was weaker than my right, I still knocked her straight to the ground with the single punch.

"Agh!" She yelled in pain as she collided with the ground with a loud thud. "You son of a bitch!" She yelled, clutching her face. "You can't assault the press!"

"Tell that to the many people you've insulted today." I replied, waving my hand casually at the crowd that had gathered. "See if there so sympathetic."

At the end of that statement, everyone in the crowd started cheering and clapping their hands.

"Can't wait to see you air that." I told the reporter, who now had a black eye and a bloody nose, as I turned around as returned to my ship with a feeling of satisfaction in my heart.

Greed's POV

Through all the commotion caused by the bumbling reporter, I managed to sneak by and plant a tracking device on their ship. Once I was rearmed and stocked, I would come back and finish the job.

"Nobody fucks with Greed and lives to tell about it." I said ask I slipped back into the crowd with a devious smile plastered on my face.

Sydney's POV

"Well...that was certainly an...interesting way to respond to the press." I commented as we all piled back into the ship. "Not sure if it was the right way, though."

"Oh come off it, that was fucking awesome." Allen told me with a big smile, holding a large box on his shoulder. "Gotta go work on my project. See ya."

Allen left, leaving me, Sean, Tali, and Thomas left.

"That woman makes me sick." Sean replied, waving his hand in the air. "She's an absolute shit stain on the world of journalism."

"Well hopefully we won't be seeing her again anytime soon." Thomas commented as he and Sean both high-fived. "See you guys later."

We were all left, awkwardly standing around.

"Um...I'll get us out of here, then I'll prepare for the mission, alright?" I told Sean, pointing to the bridge.

"Sounds good." He agreed, walking off to his quarters with Tali following.

**A/N: Well, there you go everyone! It's been a while since I've made a chapter this long, and I'm very happy with it. Hope you enjoy!**


	38. The First Mission Pt1

Weigman's POV

After we all finished getting ready for our mission, we all met inside the briefing room to go over our game plan one more time. Right now, the only people in the room at the moment were Tali, Sean, Thomas and myself.

"Guys, I came up with something while I was reading earlier." Sydney announced as she walked into the room. "Something I think you'll all like."

"What's that?" I asked, looking at the datapad she was holding.

"Since we're going to be attacking Cerberus, and we're trying to stay under their radar, I came up with codenames we could all use over the radio during missions." She explained, plopping herself in the seat next to me. "Since their name "Cerberus" is part of Greek mythology, I found it fitting to do the same with our codenames."

"Well, this sounds interesting." Thomas commented, leaning on his hand.

"Let's hear it." Sean asked, sounding curious.

"Alright, this it what I had in mind." Sydney started, looking at the datapad. "Sean, your codename would be Zeus, Thomas's would be Lapetus, and Allen's would be Tartarus."

"Cool, so I get to be the god of thunder and lightning, huh?" Sean joked with a smile. "Nice."

"Who's Lapetus?" Thomas asked, looking confused.

"He's was the Titan of Mortal Life, and the father of Prometheus, the creator of mankind." Sydney explained, looking over her notes.

"Who's Tartarus?" I asked, getting in on the idea.

"One of the guardians of the Underworld, or Hades." She replied, not even looking at the datapad while answering me.

"Well, what about us?" I asked afterwards.

"You're codename is Eres, mine is Athena, and John's is Helios." Sydney answered, reading off the datapad.

…

Thomas's POV

"Alright, I'm hooked up." I said, tugging on the rappel cord for good measure.

"Same here." Allen repeated, looking down the ventilation shaft.

"Alright, on my mark." Sean ordered, holding up his hand. "...MARK!"

All of us activated our rappels at once, allowing us to jump down into the shaft leading into the Cerberus Base. Once we made it about mid way, Allen burned off the grating leading into the large cave that contained the base, and entered.

"Wish me luck." He said with a smile.

"Just don't blow yourself up." Sean commented, giving him a thumbs-up.

"Hey! It me!" He said with a smile, grabbing one of the supports and scaling it.

"That's what frightens me." Sean replied softly, looking at me. "Come on, Lapetus. We need to keep moving if we want to catch them off guard."

"Understood, Zeus." I replied, slightly mocking, as we rappelled deeper down the shaft.

Eventually, Sean, or "Zeus" entered the vent that led to his objective, while I pried a panel off the wall that led into the primary maintenance shaft. I crawled around for a while, looking for the comm line, when suddenly I heard a whine in the distance.

I looked down, seeing a repulsor platform ascending towards me. I quickly squeezed myself between several of the cords, effectively hiding myself. The platform stopped near where I pried the panel off the wall to enter the shaft. There was a man dressed in light armor, with a series of tools handing off his belt. He stared at the panel for a while until he pressed his earpiece.

"Yeah, I found the hole." He said, rubbing the edge of the hole with his index finger. "Looks like a drop in pressure blew it off."

He paused for a few seconds, then glanced around the shaft from where he was.

"No, of course not, you idiot!" He yelled, his voice echoing. "Nobody knows we're here! How the fuck could we have an intruder if nobody knows were out here?"

He paused for a few more seconds, relaxing.

"No, it's alright. I forgot you and the others were new." He apologized to the person on the other line, dropping his shoulders. "...yeah, let me fix this panel and I'll be back."

The man let go of his earpiece, taking out a torch and grabbing a new piece of plating.

I slowly reached for my sidearm, the same one I've had since our first trip to the Citadel, and unfolded it. I then attached a silencer to it, making sure it was screwed on tight.

I then aimed directly at the back of the man's head, putting one shot through the back of his unshielded head. He slumped down, almost gracefully, on to the repulsor, dead. I activated my encrypted comm.

Now that the threat was gone, I searched a little more, finally finding the line.

"Greece, this is Lapetus. I have located the main communications line, and it appears that the facility recently received newbies."

"This means they have no experience?" Helios questioned.

"Essentially." I answered.

"This is great news, Lapetus." Sean replied. "Cut it, Zeus out."

I extended an Omni-Blade that I had bought with a smile, smashing it into the line and cutting straight through it with a shower of sparks.

"Line is cut, outside communications are down." I announced. "Moving along to rendezvous point."

…

Sean's POV

I could immediately tell the communications had been cut without Thomas's comm. The operators inside the Comm Room were instantly confused as they started adjusting options, attempting to fix the problem.

"What the hell just happened? I just lost all internal and ground side communications." One of the technicians questioned, suddenly snapping to attention as if he had been jolted.

While the techs were distracted, I quietly removed the cover to the vent, dropping down silently. I quickly grabbed the tech closest to the back of the room, covering his mouth and stabbing him through the spine with my arm blade.

I quietly placed his body on the floor, moving on to the two other techs in the room. They were both at the same console, trying to diagnose what caused the blackout.

I tapped both of them on their shoulders at once, leaning back and extending my blade. By the time they had turned around to face me, the blade had sliced both of their necks, sending them falling into the console they had been working on in a heap of blood.

"Greece. This is Zeus. The Comm room is clear." I announced quickly, looking around the room. "Moving to rendezvous point."

I quickly ran to the door, opening it cautiously. I glanced down both ends of the hallway, making sure it was clear.

I quickly ran down the hallway towards the elevator. I was reaching for the control panel when I suddenly heard the doors open. It contained five Cerberus troopers.

"...it's just a better-" One of them said, turning to look at me in surprise. All of them suddenly raised their rifles to fire at me.

I quickly fired off a burst of biotic energy out of my organic hand, knocking the Cerberus troopers off balance. I quickly took this opportunity to take my Plasma cutter off my hip and shoot them all in quick succession.

They quickly went down in response to the five sharp puffs that came from my pistol, slamming into the floor, their heavy armor smashing against the hard surface. I carefully glanced around the area, making sure no one had heard the shots. After I was certain that our cover had not yet been blown, I smiled at my silencer modifications and hopped into the elevator, punching in the primary storage area.

...

Weigman's POV

I crawled through the ventilation shaft, slightly disoriented by the size of the vent compared to me. Sean, the big tall guy, get's the wide-open maintenance vents, when I get the tiny air ones.

Sean had just disabled communications, meaning I was free to move to my target.

I had to infiltrate the labs to find evidence of the unethical operations Cerberus was conducting here, then set charges on the backup servers so it would all be destroyed when the facility went boom.

I finally reached my entry point, quietly unscrewing the vent cover and jumping down. It was a simple storage room, filled with various boxed and chemical containers. I looked closely as several of the labels, many of which were marked oddly. The oddest thing I could find were samples of Thresher Maw and other various poisons, but other than that, I couldn't make out what the function of the other chemicals were.

When I looked at the boxes, they were labeled with things like "Muscular Enhancement" and "Bone Ossification". I knew from Advanced Biology ossification had something to do with regeneration and strengthening of bones, but I still couldn't figure out what this was meant for.

I opened the door, revealing a hallway filled with medical equipment. As I walked down, I spotted two guards standing besides a door that lead into one of the operating rooms. I hid behind a crate.

"So...you think it'll work this time?" One of the guards asked the other, sounding bored.

"I don't know." The other guard replied, sounding annoyed. "I wish I would though. I'm getting sick and tired of hauling the rejects out to the disposal area and shooting them. There's no fun in killing something that can't fight back."

"Well today's your lucky day." I said, causing both of the guards to jump in surprise.

I quickly ran from cover, emitting my Omni-blade as I ran towards the guards with my pistol raised. I stabbed the closest guard in the abdomen, and shot the other directly in the head. Since his shields hadn't been activated in time, the upper half of his helmet, along with his head, practically exploded.

The guard I had stabbed fell to the ground, yelling in pain as I took the two rifles and removed the ammo blocks.

"Well, you asked for it." I said, expression blank, as I took his pack of Medi-gel and threw it and the blocks back down the hallway.

Curious to what they had been talking about, I entered the room that they had been guarding. What I saw made me feel sick.

There were two doctors inside, both working on a woman who was almost completely naked and attached to a large chair. They were giving her needle after needle, as she screamed in pain, thrashing. She was making so much noise that the doctors didn't even hear me come inside.

"No, give her another shot in point B!" One of the doctors shouted, handing the other a needle.

"Stop!" I shouted, briskly walking over and pushing the two men away. I quickly started taking all the needles out of her as fast as I could.

"Who in the FUCK are you?" The first doctor shouted, trying to stop me by grabbing my arm. I pushed him off, taking out my pistol and shooting him in between the eyes. He let out a quick scream, falling down onto the floor.

"Get down on the ground NOW, unless you want to lose your head too." I shouted to the other doctor, pointing my pistol at him. He promptly obeyed, dropping straight to the ground.

I finished pulling the needles out, I quickly applied Medi-gel to her legs, trying as hard as I could to cover all the injection areas. She finally started to calm down, but was still breathing heavily.

"...wh...who...are...you?" She asked weakly, wincing in pain.

"I'm working for Admiral Hackett." I reassured, undoing the restraints. "Are you alright?"

"No." She replied, looking up at me. "I...can't feel...my legs."

"Who are you?" I asked her, trying to keep her comfortable as I undid the last restraint.

"Private Emily Shaw." She replied, grabbing at the edges of her legs. They were red and swollen, most likely because of the injections. "Are you here to save us?"

"There are of more of you?" I asked in surprise. "Tell me exactly what happened."

"We were heading...to the planet Intai'sei, delivering...weapons to the Alliance...garrison there...when...we were ambushed by these...people..." She explained, taking deep breaths as she spoke.

"You were kidnapped by Cerberus." I told her, looking back at the doctor who was still cowering on the floor. "What did you do to her?"

"We...we w-were experimenting with h-human augmentation." He answered, stuttering in fear. "W-we injected Carbide Ceramic onto the surface of her l-leg bones, hoping to s-strengthen them."

"You kidnapping people then using them in EXPERIMENTS?" I yelled in outrage, aiming my pistol directly at him. "You are not leaving this room alive!"

"Wait, NO!" He shouted as I shot him in the neck. He fell against the wall, gurgling on his blood as he died.

"How many of you are left?" I asked Emily, lifting her up by one of her arms so she could walk.

"When they took me here for testing, only...six of my squadmates were left." She replied as I helped her across the room. "I don't know where they are from here though."

"I'll find out." I told her as I walked over to the Cerberus trooper I had stabbed earlier. He was attempting to crawl away, towards his rifle and ammo block. I set Emily down, walking over to the trooper. "I'll be back in a bit."

"I see you didn't get far." I said, causing him to flip over to face me. I stuck the barrel of my pistol into his wound, causing him to groan in pain. "Let's start out with a few questions, shall we?"

"Fuck you!" He yelled defiantly, trying to punch me. Before he could even raise his fist, I twisted the barrel of my pistol at a sharp angle, sending another burst of pain through him.

"You don't get a choice in the matter, douche." I said with rage. "Now, tell me where I can find the rest of the prisoners."

"N-no!" He shouted, causing me to stick the barrel in deeper, and turn. He shouted in pain, convulsing.

"No the answer I was looking for." I said with intimidation. "Where are they?"

"Their down the hall, to the left." He answered, finally giving up.

"Thank you." I said with sarcasm, shooting him three times in the wound. He died in seconds.

I walked back to Emily, helping her up onto her feet. I handed the pistol to Emily as I touched my finger to my earpiece.

"Greece, this is Eres. We have a snag." I said calmly as I guided Emily down the hallway.

"What's wrong, Eres?" Sean asked, sounding concerned.

"It turns out Cerberus wasn't just stealing the weapon shipments, they were stealing the crew, too." I explained as we reached the end of the hallway. "They've been running experiments on them. I've got a wounded woman here, and there may soon be others too."

"Shit, I hadn't expected this." Sean cursed. "Alright, get them out of here, and get them to the rendezvous point. We'll evac them along with the artifact."

"Understood. Eres out." I agreed, cutting the line.

…

**A/N: I'm uploading this half of the mission now since it's been a while since I posted a new chapter. I hope you guys liked it, I tried not to use as much dialog this time around, and I think it worked out.**

**BTW, in case your wondering, I will NOT be going by the end of ME3 for my story, and my characters will be a big part of it. And when I say big, I mean BIG.**

**In other news, I;ve reached my 100 reviews milestone! Thank you all for your support this great year!  
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**Mass Effect 3 – 9.5**

**Sorry, ME3. You missed the last .5 of your score for having a shit ending.**

**Remember to write a review and fav my story! This is GIR, signing out!**


	39. The First Mission Pt2

"Alright, let's get you and your comrades out of here." I reassured her, as we reached the door on the far side of the hallway. I opened the door to see two more Cerberus troopers in full armor right in front of me.

One second later, there were two sharp puffs, followed by the sound of bodies hitting the floor. I looked at Emily, who was holding a pistol in her free hand.

"Wow...um...nice shots." I complimented, smiling.

"Don't mention it." She replied, slapping the pistol back to the side of my leg. "Come on, they should be in one of these cells."

We walked down the hallway, until we finally spotted the occupied cell. There were four people still inside, who were wearing nothing but their skivvies.

"Guys, look!" One of the troopers yelled, standing up and pressing his hands on the glass shield separating us. "It's Emily!"

"I'm guessing this is your squad?" I said to Emily, looking at her.

"Yes." She confirmed, placing her hand on the glass. "Don't worry, everyone. We'll get you out of there in a minute!"

I placed Emily on the ground as I fiddled with the bypass program Tali had given me. I ran it on the door control, gaining access a few seconds later. I opened the shield, releasing the prisoners from the cell. They walked out cautiously, staying away from me.

"Here, put these on." I said, giving them each a set of while clothes out of one of the cabinets.

"Hey Em, who's this guy?" One of the younger troopers asked of Emily, taking the clothes.

"A friend, working for Admiral Hackett." She answered as one of the others picked her up. "He and some others are here to find something Cerberus has been studying and steal it."

"Wait, so you're actually not here to save us?" The only other female squad member scrutinized. "And what do you mean Cerberus?"

"The intel the Admiral gave us didn't mention anything about prisoners." I explained quickly. "I'm in this part of the base to document Cerberus's unethical experiments and destroy it all."

"Alright, fine. So what are we supposed to do?" The older trooper asked, crossing his arms. "Sit here until Cerberus finds us?"

"We'll still have room on the shuttle that's coming in to pick us up." I reassured, pointing up. "But I still need to place charges on their data banks. Do you four think you can take Emily here and get to the main elevator by yourselves?"

"We're Alliance marines, I think we can handle it." The older trooper said, walking up and picking up a rifle off of one of the troopers Emily had killed. "Just point us in the right direction."

…

Sean's POV

"So Weigman thinks he saw this thing in his dream?" Thomas questioned as we stared at the large monolith.

"I guess so." I pondered as we stood there. "God knows what this thing could be."

I scrutinized the object closely. It was much smaller than the image we were sent would suggest. It was roughly about eight feet tall, shaped like the beacon from Eden Prime, and was covered in various glowing markings. Most of them looks similar to those the Prothean had shown me, but there were also several others I didn't recognize. There was one large one in particular that stood out, which looked like a deformed human skull.

"What's wrong?" Thomas asked, looking at me curiously. I snapped my head around to look at him, surprising him. "Uh...you spaced out there for a second."

"I did?" I questioned, looking back at the monolith. I was surprised to see that it was no longer glowing it's shade of green. "Wait... didn't you see it glowing?"

"What glowing?" Thomas said in confusion, looking at the monolith. "I didn't see any glowing. What did you see?"

"All those markings on this thing were lit up with this bright green light." I described, staring back at the monolith. "Several of those marking didn't even look to be Prothean."

"Didn't Hackett say this thing supposedly predates the Protheans?" Thomas scrutinized, frowing.

"Yeah, but there were als-" I started to say as the elevator could be heard coming up. Thomas and I both got down behind a crate and took out our weapons. A few moments of silence went by, when someone shouted "hello?"

I stood up with my weapon in hand, seeing several people dressed in white walking towards us. One of them was armed with a rifle, and was aiming It directly at me.

"Are you the group Weigman mentioned?" I questioned, pistol trained on the man with the rifle.

"The guy with the hood? Yeah, we're the ones." He confirmed, relaxing and lowering his rifle. He and the others walked closer, when one of their faces lit up in sight of me.

"Are you... are you those guys from the Commander Shepard statue?" The younger soldier asked, hurrying over to look at us.

"What?" The leader of the soldiers questioned, unaware of the Private was speaking about. "What are you talking about?"

"These two guys are the exact same guys from the Commander Shepard statue on the Citadel!" He explained in excitement, smiling. "They helped her stop Saren!"

"So you really are working for the Alliance, then." The leader replied, relaxing and collapsing his rifle. "So… when are we getting out of here?"

"As soon as our demolition specialist is finished setting the explosives, we'll be out of here." I reassured as a alarm suddenly went off, activating red lights on the walls and ceiling.

"Uh Oh." I said meekly, touching the comm on my helmet. "Greek, status!"

"Helios here. Don't know what happened, I just got done rigging the security three minutes ago. Almost there." John answered quickly.

"Tartarus here. The explosives are planted, and ready to rock." Allen replied, as he popped out of one of the vents, scaring the shit out of us. "Oh, they will rock."

"Eres here. Just finished purging the research databases and planting the charges." Weigman called in quietly. "I'm coming back."

"What's wrong, Eres?" I questioned, worried.

"I found the room where the disposed of the bodies." He answered in a grave tone. "Looked like something out of the fucking Holocaust."

Weigman cut me off, going silent. I shook my head silently.

"Athena here, ready to pick you up as soon as you give the signal." Sydney responded.

I took out my Omni-tool, sending out a broadcast of Zedd – Stars Come Out.

"Signal received, going in." Sydney replied, going dark.

About a minute later, the elevator door burst open as Weigman and John ran like jackrabbits out of hell over to us.

"We gotta get out of here quick; there are a whole lot of angry Cerberus commandos coming!" Weigman yelled as the shuttle finally arrived. Allen threw an HE grenade at the elevator controls, jamming them.

All of us pushed the monolith onto the shuttle with all our might as the POWs boarded. About halfway through, Cerberus commandos started cutting through the door.

"Come on, push!" I shouted, as it finally slid inside with a loud bang. All of us piled into the shuttle as the commandos broke through the door.

"Go, go ,go!" I yelled, banging on the cockpit door. We took off seconds later, narrowly avoiding a rocket that one of them had fired.

About thirty seconds out, I looked over to Allen, who was playing with the cap on the trigger with a wicked smile plastered on his face.

"Allen... do it." I ordered him, looking out the window.

Allen stood up, walking over and pressing the button. The smaller model facility on the surface suddenly disappeared as a large cloud of fire, dust, and smoke emerged from beneath, instantly destroying the facility. A series of secondary explosions went off as gas lines and the facility's reactor violently blew up, creating a large stereotypical mushroom cloud.

"Hell yeah!" Allen shouted, pumping his fist in the air. The shockwave hit the shuttle a few seconds later, knocking Allen to the ground.

"Come on, get up Mr. Explosions." I mocked, grabbing is hand and pulling him up. "Chakwas isn't here to put grafts on your face if you bust it."

"Ah... fuck you." He replied, readjusting his footing. "That was the power of awesome blowing me off my feet."

"Suuuuure..." I mocked again, looking back out the window. "Those were more powerful that what I bought. What did you do to them?"

"It's a secret." He answered, putting a finger to his lips. "And I'm the explosives expert, so It'll stay as secret."

"Whatever you did, make sure it doesn't endanger our ship." I threatened, pointing a finger at him.

"Calm down, they don't go off without the detonators." He said with a calm demeanor, showing me the trigger. "Even then, they don't go off without the button."

"I'm just warning you, if anything goes wrong on my ship, I will have your head." I threatened once more, sitting down on one of the seats.

"Jeez, someone get this kid something to lighten him up." Allen replied, turning around to look at everyone else in the shuttle. No one was impressed.

"So where are we going?" The crippled woman asked, ignoring Allen's bickering.

"We're heading to Shanix to drop off the artifact. I'll have to talk to Hackett about you guys." I replied, leaning against the hull. "For now, you guys can get a check-up from Sydney back on the ship, then we'll go from there."

We docked with the Endar Spire shortly afterwards, Bastila flying us away as soon as the bay had pressurized. Allen ran to the bridge, and everyone who Weigman had rescued followed Sydney to the medical bay, leaving the rest of us to haul the monolith out of the shuttle.

"God... this thing weighs a ton!" John complained as we all pushed it down the ramp. "What's this thing made out of? Lead?"

"Quit your bitching, we don't want to hear it." Weigman ordered as we all pushed in unison.

...

**A/N: Sorry if the chapter is short, guys. I've been really busy with moving and my new school classes, and it's drained me. It also doesn't help that I'm going through this fabled "Mass Effect 3 Depression" that's gripping ME fans everywhere.**

**It will be a long time until the next chapter, guys. I'm sorry.**


	40. The Vision

Please remember to write a review! They really do help!

...

Soon after we had finished firmly securing the monolith to the deck, all of us went our own ways. I walked to the Comm Room, seeing Tali was already there waiting for me.

"So… how did the mission go down there?" She inquired, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. "I could see the explosion all the way from orbit."

"It went well." I replied, walking in to one of the consoles. "Secured the artifact, destroyed the facility, and even rescued a few Alliance soldiers."

"I heard about that." She said, walking to my side. "I saw them following Sydney down to the Med Bay earlier. One of them shot me an angry look when he saw me."

"Why did he do that?" I asked, looking over my shoulder.

"I don't know. Maybe he's a racist?" Tali pondered, looking at the console. "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to get a call out to Admiral Hackett." I replied, finding the address. "I'm reporting to him, and I'm going to ask him about the prisoners."

The call was sent, being accepted a few seconds later. There he was, Admiral Hackett, standing there as a blue hologram.

"So how did the mission go, son?" Hackett inquired somberly, folding his arms.

"Very well, Admiral." I answered in my officious tone. "The facility was destroyed, and the artifact was recovered safely."

"Very good, my agent reported that there was nothing left of the facility." Hackett complimented, nodding his head.

"There is one problem, sir." I interrupted. "We also rescued several Alliance soldiers from the base, who were being used in Cerberus experiments. What should we do with them?"

"Alliance soldiers, huh?" Hackett questioned approvingly. "Great job, Sean, I didn't think that any of them had survived the raids. I'll notify the Alliance Memorial Hospital on Shanix. They'll take care of them."

"Yes sir." I replied folding my hands behind my back.

"Oh, and there's something I need to tell you in private." He added, looking to Tali as he finished. I nodded my head to Tali, who left the room quietly.

The room was quiet for what felt like an hour, when Hackett finally spoke.

"Son… a few hours ago… Commander Shepard was … killed in action, and the Normandy was destroyed." He said, shaking his head and looking at the ground. "I'm…I'm sorry."

I felt my head spin as he spoke. I suddenly went very cold. Knowing that it would happen didn't change anything. Shepard. Our friend. Was dead.

"N…no." I stammered in shock, backing up and holding my forehead. "Sh…Shepard…"

…

Sydney's POV

"Alright, I've done what I can for your legs." I told Emily, examining the datapad's results. "But until you get treatment from a planet side hospital, there's nothing more I can do."

"Thanks for trying, though." She said, giving me a small smile. "Where are we going?"

"Shanix." I replied, putting the datapad back and grabbing a bottle of water. I gave it to her, who gulped it down while I talked. "Well… we're going to drop the artifact off with Hackett's contact."

"What about us?" The larger man asked.

"Hackett will tell us soon." I answered, giving the rest of them water. "Just be patient until then. "

Things were relatively silent for a while as I check the rest of them for injuries. They were lucky to have survived that long, considering Cerberus' ruthlessness when it comes to their so-called "progression" of humanity.

If progressing humanity means ruining the lives of others, I'll have no part in it. I'd rather die than do something like that to this young woman. It's possible she may never be able to walk again without having her old legs amputated and prosthetic installed.

"Hey doc, what is this ship?" The younger private asked, looking around. "It looks really old."

"This ship is an old, heavily modified and re-fitted Hammerhead-class Alliance ship." I replied, sitting at my station and leaning back in my chair. "It took us weeks of hard work to get this ship up to snuff."

"I thought all the old Hammerheads were scrapped after we started using the newer designs." One of the other men inquired. "Where did you get it?"

"We got it from Illium, where it was being used as a towing ship." I answered, looking up at the ceiling. "Quite the rust bucket at the time."

The intercom buzzed, interrupting the conversation.

"Sean has asked everyone on the ship, including the Alliance soldiers, to report o the Briefing Room immediately." Bastila said, appearing in her ghostly form. "He says he has bad news."

"Uh oh…" I exclaimed, looking to everyone else. "Bastila, put a guide line on the floor for these guys that goes to the Briefing Room."

"Yes ma'am." She replied, as a series of lights lit up on the floor in a line.

"Alright, all of you follow this while I get your friend a wheelchair." I told them as I opened up a closet and took out a collapsible wheelchair. I unfolded it, helping her up and into the chair.

I wheeled her down the hallway towards the Briefing Room. By the time we made it there, everyone else except Sean had arrived and seated themselves. A few of the Alliance soldiers opted to stand instead, and were leaning against the wall near the beverage dispenser.

John and Thomas were sitting next to each other, swapping video game glitches, and Allen was playing with a disarmed grenade, while Tali worked with her Omni-tool. Weigman was slumped down in his seat, staring at his Omni-blade with a blank gaze. That worried me.

"Where's Sean?" Allen asked, tossing the disarmed grenade at John, who caught it without looking at it.

"He said that he'd be here in a minute." Tali answered, shutting off her Omni-tool.

"Do you know what this is all about?" John asked Tali, throwing the grenade back at Allen.

"I don't." She replied, folding her hands and leaning on the table. "He just told me to set up a meeting, and went silent."

As If he had just been summoned, Sean quickly walked in without saying a word. He assumed his position in the front chair silently. Nobody spoke until he finally did.

"Alright…good news or bad news first?" He inquired, sounding different. He was much more quiet, but still had the ring of authority about his tone.

"Um… I guess the bad news?" Allen chose, taken aback by Sean's sudden change in tone.

"Do you all agree?" He asked, looking around at everyone. Slowly, everyone nodded their heads, agreeing to hear the worst."

"Fine." Sean said with a sigh, looking down. "Guys…Commander Shepard… she's been killed in action, and the Normandy is gone. Everything is fucking gone."

The silence that filled the room was deafening. We were suspended in that silence for what felt like several minutes, when the younger soldier spoke up.

"No… that's impossible!" He yelped in distress. "Commander Shepard…she was a SPECTRE!"

"Even SPECTREs can die, Private." Sean explained, deadpanning. "Saren was a SPECTRE, and we killed him. Turned him into a pile of fucking ashes."

The private slumped back, refusing to believe what he had just heard. We all felt similar disbelief, no one talking for the longest time.

Eventually, Weigman stood up in a huff and stormed out, kicking over a crate as he walked down the hallway. Allen did the same a few moments later, and he could be heard yelling even when the door had closed.

"Sean… are you alright?" Tali asked, standing up and walking over to him.

"No…no, I'm not alright." Sean answered, as his eyes turned red and a tear rolled out of his eye. "I'm not alright at all."

After a minute, Sean quickly wiped his face on his sleeve, looking up at us.

"Alright, listen. We'll be arriving at Shanix within a few hours." Sean told us, regaining his composure and looking over at the Alliance soldiers. "Admiral Hackett has told me to send all of you to the Alliance Memorial Hospital. They'll take it from there."

The soldiers slowly nodded in acknowledgment, as Sean looked at us who were remaining.

"Hackett, Anderson, and the Council are planning to set up a funeral service on the Citadel once they go through the wreckage." He explained to us. "He'll call back when we have dates for everything."

We all stood up and left, drained by the events that had just occurred. Sean, Allen and Thomas had already told me what was going to happen, but I still felt the full force of the news.

…

Allen's POV

I was charging down the hallway, torn between grief and rage. I didn't know what to to, I was so mad.

I felt like destroying something. I felt ready to kill something.

Suddenly, Thomas charged after me through the elevator.

"Allen, what the hell are you doing?" He asked, running up next to me. "You and Weigman charged out of there like there was a fire!"

"Get the hell away from me!" I yelled, pushing him away. He looked at me in surprise, then anger.

"What the fuck is your problem?" He yelled back, stopping in his tracks. "Just because Shepard died doesn't mean your allowed to push me around!"

"I don't care what you think I am, and not allowed to do!" I shouted back, stopping and walking over to him. "If I cared what a toothpick thought about me, I would ask!"

"I'm trying to help, numbskull!" Thomas yelled in protest. "And calling me a "toothpick" doesn't help anything here!"

"Can't you tell I don't want to talk to you?" I said, trying to calm myself down. "I don't need your advice, or anyone's for that matter!"

"I'm not going to let you wallow in your own pity." Thomas replied, standing his ground. "If we're going to accomplish anything, we need you with your head on straight."

"...I'm only going to tell you one more time." I responded, clenching my fist. "Leave. Me. Alone."

Thomas was quiet for a few seconds.

"No." He replied, unfolding his arms.

I swung around, trying to punch him in the face. He dodged me, ducking and hitting me square in the stomach. I, slightly disoriented, attempted to jump on top of him and knock him to the floor, when he slipped away and I instead face-planted right on the steel. Thomas quickly put his boot to the back of my neck, locking it.

"Your angry, I get that." Thomas explained as I was pinned. "But we work as a team. If you do anything like this ever again, the "toothpick" will rain an un-godly fucking firestorm down on your head."

"Fine, I'm sorry." I apologized under his boot's pressure. "Just get off of me, will ya?"

"You promise you'll calm down?" Thomas asked, still pinning me.

"...yes." I agreed, submitting.

Thomas removed his boot from my neck, as I turned around to look at him. He offered his hand to me. I accepted it as he pulled me to my feet.

"Look, I'm sorry." I apologized, starting my walk down the hallway again. "I shouldn't have done that to a friend."

"I'm not your enemy, Allen." Thomas said, pointing at me. "There's no need to-"

Thomas was suddenly cut off as a loud,sharp tone started screeching in our heads. Thomas and I both fell to the floor as it intensified. My eardrums felt like they were about to explode, when everything suddenly went dark.

…

I attempted to open my eyes, only to instinctivly close them a second later. I was surrounded by a bright light, which jogged my memory.

Was I dreaming again?

I tried opening my eyes one more, giving them time to adjust to the light. As they did, I saw I was wearing a bright white outfit. I also noticed the monolith in front of me, and five more forms laying in a circle around it. I soon noticed they were my friends. Sean leaned up, scratching his eyes.

"Wha...what the fuck happened?" Sean asked, still slightly dazed.

"I... don't know." I answered, standing up slowly.

"Allen? Is that you?"

"Yeah." I replied, walking over and helping him up. "Everyone else his here too."

One by one, they began to wake up, with Weigman being the last.

"Uh...what's going on?" Weigman asked, rubbing his temple as we pulled him up.

"We don't know." Sydney answered, as a loud humming noise could be heard. It was emanating from the monolith, which was covered in weird, glowing symbols.

As we all turned to look at it, we were all suddenly propelled upwards at high velocity. We all then suddenly stopped, as we floated in a even circle. The monolith then shot up right into the middle of the circle faster than I could comprehend.

"_You are the ones we summoned_." A series of combined voices said, the monolith pulsing in rhythm with them. "_We have been awaiting this moment for a very long time._"

"Who... who are you?" I could hear Sean say, but oddly enough I could hear him inside my head. I looked around, seeing everyone else had a similar surprised look.

"_We are the essence of the Prothean Elders._" The voice replied in calm unison.

"I... we don't understand." Sean said, further surprising the rest of us.

Was he reading our minds?

"_We shall tell you our story._" The voice replied, as the white light around us suddenly went black. The scenery around us changed to that of an excavation site, where several original, unaltered Protheans were mining out an old cave.

"_Long before our long war with the Reapers began, we discovered the ruins of a civilization that existed long before us._" The voice explained, as several Protheans broke through a stone wall, revealing a hidden anti-chamber. Inside, was the monolith.

"_It was here that the Catalyst was discovered._" The voice said, as the scenery melted away. The scene then became that of an ancient Prothean laboratory, where several more Protheans were working. The monolith, or "Catalyst", was sitting in the middle, surrounded by a containment shield. "_Those of us who attempted to touch, to read, the Catalyst, died seconds after contact._"

"We've examined the artifact extensively, and we still haven't been able to ascertain why those on the dig team died after touching it." One of the senior scientist explained to another Prothean, who was dressed in a sharp, futuristic suit. "The signals it is giving off are extremely powerful, however."

"_Our people attempted to weaponize the Catalyst, but were unable to figure out the power behind it._" The voice explained as scenes of other experiments on the Catalyst flashed by.

"_Our people eventually gave up on the Catalyst, taking it and sealing it away for hundreds of years._"

The entire scene then changed to that of the Citadel. There, Prothean ships were nothing but flaming wrecks, floating dead in space, and Sovereign was already hooked to the Citadel Tower. All the lights in the Ward arms suddenly went dead as red bolts of electricity shot out of the tower to the ends of the ring. A sort of black hole formed, engulfing the space around the ring in darkness. The Reapers then began to slither out of the darkness. Thousands of them.

"_Then... the Reapers arrived, destroying most of our military and government all at once._" The voice said as Sovereign roared a deathly roar.

The scene changed once more, revealing three Protheans scavenging around an old, run-down facility.

"You really think there's something useful here?" One of the Protheans remarked sceptically, holding some weird beam weapon. "This facility looks older than me."

"Of course!" An older sounding Prothean reassured, rummaging through a container. "The disk we found said this was where they kept dangerous secrets."

"And you don't think they should stay secrets?" The other, taller Prothean asked of the older one. "Some secrets are meant to stay hidden."

"Even if that secret could mean the destruction of the Reapers?" The older Prothean argued, holding out his arms for emphasis. I could already tell that this was at least several years into the war. The older Prothean looked desperate. His argument had a noticeable affect on the tall Prothean, who closed his eyes for a solid five seconds, then exhaled deeply.

"Your right." He said, opening his eyes. "If it means the destruction of the Reapers once and for all, it's worth the risk."

They proceeded deeper into the facility, where they came across a large door that had blocked their path. The old Prothean inserted his data disk into the slot, which opened the door with a hiss.

"What...it that?" The younger Prothean asked, now sounding interested.

"Whatever it is, it's giving off some high levels of energy." The tall Prothean said, reading a wrist device similar to that of a Omni-tool.

"This could be it!" The old Prothean said with a hint of glee.

"_The Catalyst was brought to us, the last surviving Elders of our race. Using our combined power, we finally discovered the true purpose behind the artifact."_

The scene then flashed to that of some sort of temple, where six Protheans were joined, hand-to-hand, around the Catalyst.

"_The Catalyst was a piece of a weapon, a weapon our race had known about, but never completed. The Catalyst was to be the final component to the weapon, but none of us knew of what it actually was."_

"_When we saw the Catalyst for ourselves, we could feel exactly what the energy was being emitted."_

"_It was the combined life force of a race far older than us. They had sealed their own energy inside."_

"_When the miners had touched it decades ago, they were trying to communicate with them. Unfortunately, they accidentally ended up overloading their nervous systems due to our enhanced sense of touch. They were unable to warn us without killing us."_

"_An indoctrinated spy, however, had given away our location. The Reapers were coming. We all decided that our last, best chance at defeating the Reapers would not be with us, but with our predecessors. We merged our lives with the Catalyst, using their remaining energy to bring you here._"

The temple began to collapse, as Reapers tore everything to the ground. Shortly before the roof collapsed on the Protheans, all six of them dropped dead as a bright pulse of energy flashed out, returning us to the white room we had begun in.

"So... what do you need us for?" Sean asked, as our feet connected with the ground again.

"_During our war, the schematics for the weapon the Catalyst was made for were lost." The voice explained. "We need you to gain the support of your governments, and find them."_

At that statement, we all shook our heads. We all knew what the Council would say about this.

"Ah yes, "Reapers", will be the quote of choice in a few months.

"_We understand that Shepard, the human woman that killed the Reaper, Sovereign, has been killed herself." _The voices said in a sympathetic tone._ "We understand your pain, but wish for you not to be overcome by your grief. You know she'll return in two years. Do not pity her, but keep her memory and her warning strong. You already have the trust of the human fleet commander and councilor, and that is better than nothing._

"It's right!" I said, finally speaking up. "We need to work to preserve Shepard's memory, not grief over her. We need to make sure we don't let those Council assholes forget that there's a war coming!"

"I agree!" Sean said, standing straighter.

"And so do I!" Weigman agreed, finally puckering up.

"We will make sure that when the time comes, the Reapers will have the full brunt of the galaxy to face!" Sean said to the Catalyst, as the green markings on it faded away, and everything went dark.

…

**A/N: Well, I finally explained the full back story behind the monolith (Catalyst), and all these visions everyone's been having. You can probably see where I'm going with this in terms of the ME3 ending, and I already have a solid idea of what's going to happen. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, it took me a long time to plan out the vision everyone shares with the Catalyst.**

**This is GIR, signing out.**


	41. Shanix

The world started to slowly come back into focus. My ears were still ringing, but I could hear a voice shouting at me.

"Sean! SEAN!" A voice was shouting. I was soon able to tell it was Tali. "Oh Keelah, please get up!"

I managed to let out a pained groan, which let Tali know I was indeed conscious.

"Sean!" Tali yelled in panic. "Can you hear me? Are you alright?"

"My ears are ringing, and my head hurts, but otherwise I'm alright." I said groggily, supporting myself with my arms. The surface I was on was soft, like a… bed?

"What happened?" She asked, trying to help me up. "You just dropped down screaming and passed out an hour ago!"

"It's… kind of a long story." I answered, finally regaining part of my vision. It kinda looked like I was in my room. "Where am I?"

"When you, Allen, and everyone else passed out, I told the Alliance soldiers to bring you all to your rooms." She explained, sitting down on the bed next to me. "I was hoping you would all just wake up like the last time you did this."

"Good job." I complimented, giving her a shoulder hug. "Listen, when everyone is up and running, call everyone back to the Briefing Room."

"Why?" She asked, confused.

"I'm going to tell you and those Alliance soldiers the long story."

…

Eventually, everyone regained consciousness. They all suffered the same symptoms I had when I woke up, but they recovered quickly. Everyone piled into the Briefing Room, as I told our story. I told them everything, but left out the part about us being brought here by the Protheans.

"That sounds like complete bullshit." One of the soldiers quipped, folding his arms as he looked at me with disbelief. "How could any of this be possible?"

"I told you, it has something to do with this Catalyst." I replied, leaning forward in my chair. "This thing could possibly be the key to defeating the Reapers."

"But how can you be sure?" The younger one asked, sounding even more disbelieving. "How do you know it wasn't some sort of hallucination?"

"How could we all have the same hallucination?" I asked, giving him a serious look. That silenced him quickly.

"I do admit, this sounds a little far-fetched, Sean." Tali said, looking directly at me. "Are you completely sure about all of this?"

"Absolutely." I said in a defiant voice.

"If you're sure about this, it means getting this… Catalyst… to Hackett is imperative." Emily stated with a serious look on her face.

"Bastila, how much longer until we reach Shanix?" I asked, causing her hologram to pop up on the table.

"We will arrive in the system in 14 minutes." She replied, hands still folded behind her back.

"Good." I said, taking a quick glance around the room. "Let's go see the planet."

We all traveled over to the bridge to see the planet. Shanix was a large world that looked a lot like Eden Prime, but it had much bigger cities, forests, and factories than the latter. There was activity bustling around the area, mostly around a small glowing dot a few dozen miles from the spaceport.

"Uh oh…" Sydney said, crossing her arms. "What happened?"

"Bastila, what happened down there?" I asked, staring at the glowing dot.

"Scanning…" She replied, coming back a few seconds later. "According to radio chatter and the media, a large gas explosion went off in the Interstellar Dynamics manufacturing plant. There were several dozen Alliance deaths, with twice as many injured or wounded."

"That's not going to be good for the Alliance or Uncle…" I said to myself. "Take us in for a landing, Allen."

"Sure thing." He replied as we accelerated towards the spaceport.

We landed in one of the larger ports without trouble due to our clearance from the Memorial Hospital. They were already there waiting for us by the time we landed.

"We'll take them to the hospital, sir!" One of the paramedics said as we all walked out of the ship. We all said our goodbyes to each other as they piled onto the transport. Emily was the last to get on.

"Keep in touch." I told Emily, giving her a copy of my omni-tool's contact info.

"Sure thing." She replied, shaking my hand with a smile.

She was wheeled onto the transport with everyone else. They looked… happy… to be somewhere safe.

The doors closed as the transport took off towards the hospital.

"So… where are we supposed to meet this contact?" John asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"We're supposed to meet him in a café later today, but you don't need to come if you don't want to." I answered in a slightly dismissive tone. "Go on and have a little R&R. I'll deal with Hackett's contact."

There wasn't another word spoken as we all silently broke away from each other to explore the port. Me and a few of the others went back inside the ship to change into our civilian attire. I had thrown on a pair of jeans with extra pockets and a plain t-shirt. I would have worn the N7 hoodie I had picked up on the Citadel, but things were too bittersweet right now for it. I also left my helmet on my desk.

Tali decided to accompany me to the café to meet the contact later.

"So… where are we going next?" Tali asked, holding my hand.

"Well… we'll probably wait until after Shepard's funeral service before we do anything else. " I said in my somber tone. "Then… I suppose we'll visit the Migrant Fleet, meet your father and spread the warning against the Reapers."

"Sounds like you have everything planned out." Tali commented as we walked.

"I wish I really did." I replied, staring at the ground as we walked. "I don't know what'll happen now that Shepard is gone."

"We'll just have to keep her message strong." Tali reassured, holding my hand a little tighter. "Make sure the Council doesn't forget about her."

"Sounds like YOU'RE the one with the plan here." I said in a joking jest.

Tali simply laughed as we entered the café, Earth's Classic Brews, and sat down in one of the booths on the window front. I shifted in the booth, which was slightly small compared to me. A short while later, a young redhead came to the table to take out orders.

She paused, staring at me and my arm for a few seconds. She seemed… entranced… by me. I didn't understand.

"Umm…hello?" I exclaimed, snapping her out of her trance.

"Oh! Uh… welcome to Earth's Classic Brews! What kind of coffee can I get for you?" She said, staring directly at me as she spoke.

"What do you want, Tali?" I asked, forcing the redhead to look away from me.

"Hmm… surprise me." She answered, looking at the classic paper list. "Remember, I'm dextro-amino."

"I can tell." She replied in a slightly bitter tone as she wrote down Tali's instructions. She then turned back to me, her smile creeping back up her face. "What would you like?"

"I'll take… a chocolate mocha with cream." I replied, looking at the menu to avoid her gaze.

"Alright, I'll be back shortly with your order." She said as she finished writing down my order.

"Orders, you mean?" I said, starting to get angry.

"Yes, I'm sorry!" She apologized, taken aback by my sudden tone change. "I'll be right back right away with your orders!"

She quickly scurried away to get our orders, leaving me and Tali to laugh.

"That was funny!" She said, leaning over and grabbing her side as she laughed.

"Did you see the way she nearly tripped?" I said in between laughing.

"Are you two having fun?" A voice above us suddenly said, stopping us on a dime.

I looked up, seeing a man standing next to the table. He was dressed in a black/gray suit, with a pistol on his hip. He had pointy black hair, with a scar going along his left cheek.

"Are you Steve's friend?" I asked quietly.

"June 6, 1944." He replied simply.

"D-Day." I replied to the pass question.

He held out his hand, and I shook it, letting him sit down. He also shook Tali's hand as well.

"So how did the mission go?" He asked, sounding curious. "Steve only told me that it was a success."

…

John's POV

The spaceport was big, but the city was just daunting. There were crowded skylanes waving between the tall buildings, and the beautiful esplanade that we were walking along was filled with people, mostly humans, shopping in the various stores and eating in the diverse restaurants.

"This place is huge!" Weigman exclaimed, staring up at the tips of the skyscrapers as we walked. "I wonder how much it cost to live here…"

"A lot." Sydney replied, looking at the displays in the windows. "This is the rich area of the city."

"We could possibly pay for it." I said, staring into the window of a gun shop as we walked. "If we pooled our money together…"

"No, we already have an apartment on Illium. We don't need to buy another piece of real estate." Sydney said, shooting us down.

"Fine…" Weigman said, sounding saddened by his lack of an upper atmosphere home.

A few minutes after leaving the esplanade, we started walking around some of the rougher, livelier areas of the city. Down here, there were more aliens that the upper areas and it's also where the best clubs were.

"You guys feel like hitting up this place?" I asked, pointing to a larger club called Voixal. There was a flashy sign outside, featuring images of the band playing tonight. It was a… diverse band to put it lightly.

"I didn't know quarians could play guitars…" Weigman commented as we looked at a sign featuring a skimpily-dressed quarian called Uri.

"Wanna see how well she plays?" I asked the two of them. Weigman smiled and nodded with approval, while Sydney looked at me with mild disapproval.

"Are you sure you don't want to go in just to look at her chest?" She questioned with annoyance.

"No…" Weigman and I replied innocently in perfect unison.

Sydney sighed in defeat, looking down at the ground, and back to us.

"Fine, let's go." She caved in, walking towards the club as Weigman and I pumped our fist into the air.

After bribing the krogan bouncer, we made our way into the club. Only a few feet in and you could hear blaring rock music through the walls. We walked onto the main floor, seeing the band performing on the center stage.

"Wow, their pretty good!" I heard Weigman say with a slight yell.

"No shit!" I yelled back, looking around for a seat.

I then spotted something I absolutely did not expect.

I saw Hunter, sitting next to another female quarian wearing a strange mask. He was staring intently at the lead guitarist, who was the female quarian wearing a partially transparent enviro-suit around the chest and stomach area.

"Holy shit, look who it is." I said to Sydney and Weigman, pointing out Hunter.

"Wow..." Sydney said, not sounding happy. "It's him again."

I walked over, sitting next to him. He was so focused on the lead guitarist that he didn't even see me.

"So... nice outfit she's wearing, huh Hunter?" I said, finally gauging his attention after I said his name. He turned around to face me, not saying a word. I could only imagine the look in his face right now.

"What... the fuck?" He let slip out. "It's you three?"

"I bet you missed us." I said in a snarly tone, leaning back in the chair.

"Hunter, what's with the fucking kids?" The fem-quarian sitting next to him asked in a drawn out and grizzly tone.

"I... umm..." Hunter replied, not immediately having an answer. "They're from... one of my older jobs."

"Well, get rid of them." She ordered him, pushing him with her elbow. "I've had enough with humans today..."

"Who are you?" Weigman asked her, letting his curiosity get the better of him.

"My name isn't yours to kn..."

"Her name is Evela." Hunter said, cutting her off as he looked back at the lead guitarist, Uri, performing on-stage. "And she's a psychopath, okay?"

I could almost feel the wall of tension separating Hunter and Evela here. It was so thick I almost felt as if I could cut it with a knife.

"I swear, If you didn't need to be here right now…" Evela said under her breath.

I looked more closely at Hunter, seeing that both he and Evela were covered in soot. Hunter's scarf was also slightly burnt on the end.

"What happened to you, Hunter?" I asked, causing him to stare intensely at me. "You look like you've walked through a wall of fire."

"Umm… there actually was a fire…" He answered slowly. "… a big one."

Hunter's uneasiness must have pegged Sydney's curiosity, because she took it a little farther.

"Wait… you two were involved in that explosion over at Interstellar Dynamics, weren't you?" She accused, putting two-and-two together.

"What, are you going to report us to the police?" Evela mocked, leaning calmly backwards in her chair.

She was awfully calm, considering that she and Hunter practically committed an act of terrorism. I couldn't make her out, especially with that creepy mask she was wearing over her faceplate.

"…no, there would be no point in it, anyway." Sydney replied with a disgusted look on her face.

"Smart." Evela replied, looking back at something in the distance. "Now don't ask about it ever again."

"What are you three doing here, anyway?" Hunter asked, glancing at us for a second.

"We just got back from a mission, so we decided to explore the city." Weigman replied, taking a seat at one of the tables. "So deal with it."

"You know I can kill you now, right?" He threatened, glaring at Weigman.

"Yeah, but you won't." Weigman replied coldly with a smile, as the music in the background droned down, and the band dispersed.

The female quarian from the band, Uri, walked pass us, going straight for the bar.

"Hey, bartender! Send some turian brandy over here! Triple filtered!" She ordered, as he moved with the deliberation of a sleepwalker out of his corner. The way she moved attracted the eyes of most of the men in the area, even the ones that brought their lady friends with them. It only got worse as she leaned over the bar, revealing her ass to everyone watching.

"Wow..." Hunter exclaimed, completely forgetting about Weigman's taunts as he stared at her. The fact that it was a leathery, rubberish material didn't help anything for me or Weigman, either. Sydney was most likely glaring at the two of us right now.

"Slut." Evela commented in disgust as she turned around and went back to her drink.

As soon as Uri got her drink, she turned around, revealing her suit that was transparent on the stomach and the tops of her chest. She took a look around, and paused.

"Um..." She exclaimed, as a turian wearing similar rocker gear walked up next to her and sat down. She turned to him in relief, and sat down next to him. "Oh, hey Ace!"

The excitement died down slowly. Hunter turned around and started mumbling to himself as he stared at the ground and fooled with the end of his hood. Evela was focused on her drink, and Uri was engaged in conversation with this "Ace" guy at the bar..

"Come on, BOYS, I think we're done here." Sydney said, pulling me an Weigman by the ends of our ears, dragging us out of the club.

"Oww!" We both yelped the whole way out.

…

**A/N: Sorry that it's been a while, guys. The HSA's and the finals are coming up, and I've been workin my ass off studying for the dammed things. I've also been putting more time into my artwork as of late, so that's also been a limiting factor in my writing.**

**Also... don't expect a chapter until at least mid-june, because I'm going full "Zombie Mode" until I get out for the summer. Sorry guys.**

**Oh, and I hope you liked the cameo, upsdragoon! *wink wink***

**Uri belongs to upsdragoon on deviantART.**

**Evela belongs to TacoWrath (me) on deviantART.**

**Hunter belongs to MetalFluffyNinja on devaintART.**


	42. Fast Forward

**A/N: Sorry there hasn't been an update is such a long time everybody. Between working, schoolwork, and writer's blocks, I haven't been putting a lot of effort into the story as of late. I also unfortunately had to forward the story because I had written myself into a corner that would have required a LOT of boring dialogue to write out of. Don't worry, you will hear all the important details such as Shepard's funeral and more so, Tali's return to the Fleet.**

**Well... here's the latest, long-awaited chapter in The Odd Ones Out. It's mostly catch-up, but it's something, right?**

…

Sean's POV

6 Months Later

I leaned back in my office chair, looking over the details of our newest assignment. We were going after a Batarian mob boss on Omega called some over-the-top, complex name. For the purpose of the mission, we've shortened it to Luske.

Apparently, he's been running an extremely large Red Sand operation there for the last few weeks, and it's been rumored that his "family" was the one that constructed a "Sand Bomb", and detonated it in one of the residential areas of the station.

I shook my head in utter disgust as I scrolled through the holos of the aftermath. This "Sand Bomb" released a large, concentrated cloud of poisoned Red Sand into the area, OD'ing everyone in the radius who breathed it. Their bodies were twisted and contorted in unnatural positions, and their eyes were glazed over. It was horrifying.

That alone would have make us accept the job, but It was also the fact that it was coming from an old friend. Garrus Vakarian. We would be meeting him in the always happy and sunny Afterlife this afternoon.

I remembered the last time I saw him, he make his speech at Shepard's funeral right before I did...

…

Six Months Ago

Sean's POV

With the exception of Tali, we were all dressed in our new suits as everyone took their seats. The mood was bitter, like coffee, and about as colorful too. Everyone from the Normandy was here, along with Hackett, Anderson, Udina, and the three Council members.

A vein in my neck pulsed with anger when I saw those three backstabbers.

There were seats lined up facing the statue of Shepard and her team, with an empty steel coffin with a white-red N7 stripe on the top. Seeing the statue now didn't make me happy like it did before. Now it made me wish more that she was alive right now.

"Look at them." Allen whispered, looking at the Council as he sat down behind me. "They look like they barely care."

"Don't remind me, I'm already pissed as it is." I whispered back with a glare, sitting in the front next to Garrus.

After everyone was seated, the Council gave their first "respects", each making their own little speech about how honored she is by the Council, and how she will be remembered. Tevos was the only one that actually SOUNDED like she meant what she said. Of course, none of them mention anything about continuing her fight against the Reapers.

Next up was Garrus, who make a honest, respectful speech about his experiences with her, ending it by saying that he loved her. I really felt sorry for the guy, because everyone on the ship knew he was in a relationship with Shepard. He stood there for a moment in silence before returning to his seat next to me.

"_Well, it's my turn._" I thought, standing up and walking over to the podium. I hated doing speeches, let alone impromptu, unplanned ones, so I vowed to myself to do as well as possible.

I placed my hands on both ends of the podium, looking down at the empty coffin. I let out a sigh as I looked back up.

"When we came to the Citadel looking for work, we never expected to end up being part of the first human Spectre's team, fighting Saren and the Reaper Sovereign." I started, looking over everyone, finishing with the Council. The Turian councilor visually looked angrier as I spoke that last part.

"We were... privileged, to be able to fight alongside such a strong woman over these last few months." I stated, beginning to feel slightly more comfortable. "She taught us many great things, and was a great friend to us all."

"We cannot forget the threat that she uncovered, however." I said, looking over at the Turian councilor again. "We must remember that the Reapers are coming, and that Shepard would have wanted up to continue fighting them. We cannot forget her mission, and we must follow it through to the end."

Everyone minus the Councilors clapped vigorously as I walked off the stage and sat back down in my seat. I gave a wide troll grin to the Councilors as I did so.

Hackett gave a similar speech in that gruff, old tone he had, as well as Anderson with that good-old Keith David ring.

…

Sean's POV

Current Time

I smiled, thinking back to that "look" the Turian councilor gave me. It made me laugh every time I visualized it.

Of course, everyone else made their speeches too. Joker's was the most depressing since he broke into tears by the time he was finished. He blamed himself for what happened to Shepard, and a far as I know he hasn't left his apartment in weeks. Poor guy.

Things didn't really improve much after that. Other than getting to speak to Hackett in person and receive thanks from him, things progressively worsened as the funeral ended.

We finally made the trip to take Tali back to the Migrant Fleet a few days later. The mood was still bitter from Shepard's funeral, but who could blame us? If it wasn't for Shepard, none of this may have happened to us.

I may never have met Tali, who knows?

I picked up the holo of Tali I took of her before we attacked the facility on Virmire. Of course, she had her new suit by now, but I "technically" didn't know that. I missed her so much.

"_Sean? Are you almost ready to go?_" Thomas asked through the comm. "_We have to meet Garrus in one hour._"

"Yeah, I'll be out there in a minute." I said, looking at the holo one more time and putting it down.

…

Three Days After Funeral

Sean's POV

After hitting the relay, our ship lurched into a nebula out in the Far Rim. Everyone was on the bridge at the time, so we all got to see the fleet in it's fullest.

There were thousands of ships, and I meant THOUSANDS. Mass Effect 2 did no justice to the true might of the Migrant Fleet. It wasn't just those big liveships with the spheres and the ones with the circles on the fronts, there were HUNDREDS of different ships all moving in formation.

"Wow...that is a lot of firepower..." Allen commented, staring out the window. He had taken plates of vehicle armor and welded them to his suit in a mesh of sorts. He looked like a walking tank now.

"It's only the largest fleet in the galaxy, Allen." Tali quipped playfully as she looked at us. She sounding a little more easy-going now that the fleet was getting closer.

"Well... I wouldn't be dumb enough to try anything stupid around here." Allen replied with respect in his voice.

"So Tali, do you want to hail them or should I?" Sydney asked, looking over the edge of her chair at her. It was funny that there was now a pile of old books sitting next to her chair. Mangas like One Piece and Bleach, mostly.

"I should since I know the authorization phrase." Tali answered, looking back at Sydney.

"Fair enough." Sydney replied, opening up a channel with the fleet.

"This is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya requesting permission to dock with the Rayya." Tali spoke clearly as we got closer.

"_Our system has you flagged as Alliance. Verify._" The traffic controller asked calmly.

"After time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and through shoals of dust, I will return to where I began." Tali answered, arms crossed.

"_Permission granted. Welcome home, Tali'Zorah._" The traffic controller said, granting us access. "_Approach exterior docking cradle 11. A security and quarantine team will meet you at the airlock._"

"Understood." She agreed, closing the channel.

"We're flagged as Alliance?" Weigman whispered to me.

"I guess." I whispered back, shrugging.

"You would be surprised how far back our ship records go." Tali said, turning back around to face us. "A quarian many years ago found an old set of Alliance and turian ship profiles on his pilgrimage."

"I bet those got him onto a nice ship." I commented back as Sydney took us in.

"Please be quiet, I don't need distractions." Sydney said under her breath as the docking cradle extended from the Rayya and connected to the port behind the main MAC batteries.

We all quietly piled out of the bridge into the airlock as a magnetic clank vibrated through the ship. We were connected. Everyone put their helmets and sealed them as the internal doors closed.

"Do you know what's going to happen?" I asked Tali as the air inside cycled.

"I really don't know." She answered, folding her hands behind her back.

I decided not to pursue the question any further. We were about to find out either way in a few seconds. I turned on the new scanning software in my helmet, figuring this was as good a place as any to test it out.

The outer door opened after a lengthy decon sequence, revealing several quarians armed with M-8 Avengers. Aimed at us. They seemed a little less friendly than they were to Shepard in Mass Effect 2.

One of the men, who was holding a M-3 Predator instead of the M-3 Avenger, approached us. He looked over us, finally relaxing a little bit and putting his sidearm away.

"Welcome home, Tali'Zorah." He greeted, shaking Tali's hand. "Who are your... companions?"

"No need to worry, captain." Tali said to calm him down. "These people are my friends."

"If you say so." The captain replied wearily, looking us over. "Your friends are Alliance?"

"Our ship is and old decommissioned Alliance vessel, captain." I said, holding up my hand up. "We just bought her and fixed her up."

"Captain Kar'Danna, this is Sean." Tali introduced after I had spoken. "He... saved my life and assisted me in completing my pilgrimage. His ship is called the Endar Spire."

"Any friend of Tali's is a friend of mine." Captain Kar'Danna said, holding out his hand for me to shake. I accepted it, returning the gesture. "So... it is great to meet you, Captain Sean."

"Just "Sean" is fine, captain." I said in my normal tone. "You don't need to address me as captain."

"You are the commander of the Endar Spire, responsible for the lives aboard it. That entitles you to respect among our people." Kar'Danna explained. "May you stand between your crew and harm as you lead them through the empty quarters of the stars."

"Keelah se'lai." Tali said, looking over at me. "It's an old ship captain's blessing, Sean."

"I'm honored." I said with respect, bowing slightly as the captain took us walking through the ship. There were people everywhere working, whether it be maintenance or moving containers. It still looked the same as it did in Mass Effect 2, but there was a more realistic design and a lot more hallways.

"Your father has been notified that you have returned." Kar'Danna explained as we walked. "He should arrive within the hour."

"Has anything major occurred while I was gone?" Tali asked the captain a little more softly.

"Not really." He answered. "There's been an odd lack of activity around the fleet lately. The only news that has people talking is that attack on the Citadel a few weeks ago."

"We were at that battle, actually." I quipped, flexing my artificial arm. "I nearly died stopping Saren."

"I heard a rouge Spectre called Saren tried to take over the Citadel with an army of Geth and some kind of warship." Kar'Danna said as we walked. "You were there?"

"We were there with Commander Shepard. She was the Spectre that led the search for Saren." Tali said truthfully.

We arrived in what looked like an indoor park of sorts. There were benches and chairs littered around the area.

"Captain Sean, your companions can wait here while you and Tali go speak to Admiral Rael'Zorah." Kar'Danna explained, looking at my friends. "Admiral Rael'Zorah has personally requested to meet Tali before she goes to present her gift to the captain of her choice. You, technically being her captain at the moment, will have a great role in describing her performance."

"So...it's kinda like a job interview?" I asked, a little confused.

"Job interview?" the Captain questioned, sounding confused himself.

"Um... humans sign up for roles they want to play in society, captain." Tali quickly explained. "They aren't assigned roles like we are here."

"Ah... so it's a human thing." The Captain said, shrugging off my comment. "All you have to do is talk about how Tali did from your point of view during her Pilgrimage. This doesn't happen very often, so any input you can provide will greatly assist her."

"Well, I guess I'll do my best." I said, shrugging. I looked over to my friends, telling them to stay put while I did this, and not to cause any trouble.

We were taken to what looked like an old conference room with a window that overlooked the fleet. The captain informed us that Rael'Zorah would be here soon, and with that he left.

I had to quietly thank the new scanning software I had installed in my helmet. It allowed me to focus on an object, and it would scan and display things about it. It told me within the course of one minute that there were retractable turrets installed in the ceiling.

About ten minutes later, Rael'Zorah finally arrived. He walked like someone who was rushed all the time.

"Welcome home, Tali." Rael greeted his daughter, giving her a hug. "I understand you have brought guest with you?"

"Dad, this is Sean. Sean, this is Admiral Rael'Zorah, my father." Tali introduced as we shook each others hands.

"So Tali... how did your pilgrimage go?" Rael asked, sounding curious.

We spent about an hour pouring over the events of the last few months, highlights of course being the search for and defeat of Saren, the Geth and Sovereign and that Geth data disk we found in the Traverse.

"I find much of this hard to believe, I must admit." Rael said, hands folded under his helmet.

"Me and my crew can vouch for anything Tali says, sir." I added, hoping to better support Tali.

"Tali, could I have a moment alone with... Sean?" He asked out of the blue. Tali left without a peep, leaving me and Rael alone in the room.

After about a minute of silence, he spoke up.

"Sean... come closer." Rael asked of me.

I leaned closer to him, thinking he was going to tell me something important, when he suddenly grabbed my armor collar and pulled be extremely close.

"You will stay away from my daughter!" He yelled at me as if the helmet wasn't there. "I will NOT have my daughter engage in this silly nonsense with a HUMAN!"

I quickly pulled myself away, fully alert. I was, quite frankly, offended and surprised at the same time.

"What's the fucking problem?" I shouted, standing up.

"You will stay away from my daughter! Do you understand me?" He shouted, standing up as well.

"What's wrong with me and your daughter being together?" I yelled, now in full rage mode. "I saved her life, we've protected each other, and we have a lot in common! What reason do we have NOT to be together?

"You humans are untrustworthy, deceitful people who take advantage of everything any chance they get!" He yelled at me, pointing and everything. "You will try and use her!"

"Funny how I've defended her all this time, only to be called the exact opposite of what I am!" I yelled back with even more fury. "Many people say the same about YOUR race, but that doesn't mean it's true!"

"You will leave the Rayya immediately, with your crew, and never contact my daughter again!" Rael shouted with finality, pointing at the door. "Do you understand, human?"

I left the room without saying another word to him. It was obvious he wasn't going to budge, and that he wasn't only anti-Geth.

I quickly said goodbye to Tali before her father caught up, and took everyone and we left the fleet. That was single-handily one of the worst experiences I have gone through in my life.

…

Sean's POV

Current Time

As I walked down the hallway with my armor and weapons, I pondered that encounter more closely in my mind. Perhaps Rael'Zorah just didn't think that the relationship would be good for her, and wanted me out of the equation thinking it would be better for her.

Or maybe he really did just have a burning hate for humans. For some odd reason that I couldn't fathom.

I was halfway to the Hanger, when my Omni-tool started playing Catgroove. Someone was calling me. I silently cussed at the Omni-tool before looking at the caller ID.

It was Tali, for the first time in months.


	43. Garrus And Afterilfe

Allen's POV

Five Minutes Later

Still attempting to keep my cool over Sean's absence, I leaned against one of the supports in the hanger, looking at everybody. It was kinda funny, actually, seeing how we've all changed over the last six months since Shepard died.

Thomas, now being the so-called sharpshooter of our little outfit, now had extra padding on his shooting arm for hitting the dirt, and carried around a bunch of different interchangeable scopes and barrels on his chest in a satchel. He had also bought a new sniper rifle, one of those big Widow ones that are illegal in Council space. The fucking thing is so powerful that Thomas had to buy a special rig for his shooting arm just to keep said arm on when firing it.

Weigman, our resident ninja, has removed most of the armor on his suit in exchange for better shields. He still had that hood that he loves to wear, but he also bought a face-concealing Recon Hood to go with it. The goggle part of it kinda looked like Baird's goggles from Gears Of War, which I found even funnier. Cocky bastard even bought a vibrating, retractable sword for his sneaky vent jobs. He's trying to get his hands on a cloaking system, but he's had no luck so far.

Sydney, the field medic, had recently removed portions of her armor on the leg and arm sections. She opted to instead saddle herself with a bunch of sewed on pouches that stored her medical supplies. She was still, for the most part, the pilot, so she now had this tricked-out helmet that gave her shit loads of info as she flew around the Endar Spire or the shuttle. Now that thing was just funny to look at. At least she upgraded to a M-6 Carnifex and gotten rid of that shitty old M-3 Predator.

John, who's armor had more or less remained the same aside from the Kuwashii Visor he bought, had a little bit of everything, but now carried our little gift from Admiral Hackett, the prototype M-560 Hydra. I objected very vocally to Sean about him giving that beautiful weapon to John, but Sean said he didn't trust me with that much firepower. He said that I'd have to stick to using the old ML-77 for the time being. John was a lucky bastard, and I had to admit I slightly resented him for it.

Me, the guy who carries around all the dangerous shit that could explode, had created a special armor plating for my suit which consisted of layers of vehicle armor. I was aiming to look similar to Bill from that movie Rampage, where there are sheets of armor covering my vital points such as my neck and spine. The good part was that it was fairly easy to attach these plates to my existing suit, unlike the Kevlar that he used in the movie. I also added a nice backpack for the stuff that needed detonators.

After another minute, I had enough.

"Alright, can someone please tell me where the fuck Sean is?" I asked, finally bored and pissed off. "We were supposed to be off the ship by now!"

"Calm your ass down, Allen." Sydney mocked calmly, leaned against the shuttle in her armor. "You know Sean wouldn't be delaying if it wasn't important."

Then, as if by clockwork, Sean, our illustrious leader, finally walked into the hanger. The only things that have changed about him over the last few months were the new Strength Boost Pads attached to his shoulder guards, and the Aegis Vest to cover his old, hole-filled chestplate. He also carried a special, armored off-hand ammo pouch just for an extra BFG cell. He still wore that NCR helmet with the glowing red eye sockets on it that scared the shit out of stupid mercenaries.

The weird thing was that he now wore a hand-built "Eezo Emitter" on his prosthetic that allowed him to use his biotics with that arm now. I still had no clue how it worked, an Sean wasn't revealing his secrets anytime soon. I guess it was kinda cool though, since it looked like that time control thing from Singularity.

"Sorry I'm late, guys." He apologized, walking into the shuttle and sitting down. "I got a call from... and old friend."

"Who's the old friend?" I asked as everyone began to pile into the shuttle for our happy little trip.

"I'll tell you guys about it once the mission is over." He answered, strapping himself in. "It's not important at the moment."

"It better not be, cause' we have a mission to do right now." Weigman quipped with that weird mask over his head. We now had two creepy people who loved to wear something over their faces. Great. He looked over to Sydney, who had just gotten herself situated in the cockpit. "Hey Sydney, any thought on that Mantis Gunship I told you about?"

"You mean the ones with the weak armor and shitty flight controls?" He shot back from her seat. "No, haven't really given it that much thought."

"Come on, you have to admit they pack a lot of firepower!" Weigman persisted with a small bit of excitement in his voice.

"That firepower doesn't mean anything if you're going to get shot down or blown up using it." Sydney said with finality as the air was sucked out of the bay.

"Remind me again why we aren't just directly docking with the station." John said, looking over at me and Sean. "Wouldn't that be easier than taking the shuttle out?"

"We're taking the shuttle because I don't like it when the street trash leaves bullet dents in my shiny airlock when their shitty hacking software can't open the door." Sean replied with a slight bit of anger, snapping out of whatever thought he was immersed in. "The ship will be fine here in space. Bastila can evade asteroids and other ships."

"If you say so." John replied, not willing to argue with Sean as the shuttle took off towards the hive of scum and villainy known as Omega.

…

Sean's POV

I was having a lot of trouble wrapping my head around what had just happened over the last several minutes, let alone months.

Tali calls me after months of silence, only to tell me that Cerberus attacked the Mirgrant Fleet while I was gone over Kahlee Sanders and some biotic kid Cerberus wanted for themselves. All I knew about **Mass Effect: Ascension** was what Tali told Shepard in ME2, and what little more she had just finished telling me. The only Mass Effect novel I had ever read before being brought here was Mass Effect: Revelation, and that was a prequel to ME1, making in nearly useless.

I did remember Kahlee Sanders, though. She was a scientist who was working on developing AI, which was and still is a big no no here. Anderson had to protect her both from the Batarians and Saren, who too was interested in the AI.

Tali explained to me that she was finally far enough from the Fleet that she could contact me without her father knowing. She had taken her gift to the captain of the Neema, and was accepting into the crew with open arms. Apparently, even my testimony helped her a little bit.

The details of the attack were still strong four months later, which I had hoped may help prepare us for any future encounters with Cerberus. All she knew was that several Cerberus commandos disguised as quarians raided the ship Idenna in a sole attempt to capture a biotic child who was with Kahlee Sanders, and some guy called Paul Grayson. They were brought there by a quarian on his Pilgrimage in exchange for info on Saren and the Reapers. Some sort of powerplay on info concerning the Geth.

Tali dropped so much information in five minutes that I barely had time to even think about her. I asked if she was still... interested in me, to with she replied "Definitely." My heart glowed as I told her that I was going to a job with Garrus, and had to go.

"Sean?" Weigman called, snapping his fingers in front of my helmet. "Are you asleep again?"

"Huh?" I replied, acting like I was. "Ye-yeah, man. Beauty sleep."

"Well, we've arrived, Sleeping Beauty." Weigman mocked, pressing the release on my harness. "Get up."

I walked out of the shuttle, immediately turning on my suit's air filters. Omega, or at least the air the space port, smelled like rotting horse shit.

We took a transit shuttle to Afterlife. Garrus was meeting up with one of his team members there. After about a ten minute ride, we, ironically, were let off where the Normandy docks in Mass Effect 2. Through the hallway with the broken holograms laid the front of Afterlife.

"Ah, the Löwengrube." I said in my inherited German accent.

"Low what?" Allen asked in his stupid question voice.

"That was German for Lion's Den." I replied matter of factly. "Also known as the place where the dummschiss Batarian bartender downstairs likes to poisons the drinks."

"Whatever, let's go in." Allen replied, both tired of my German and eager to get inside.

We walked up, flashing our expensive passes at the bouncer and quickly getting inside. We could hear the muffled music blaring and see the holographic flames licking the walls. That tough guy Batarian was there again, but this time with six buddies instead of three.

"Human! I told you not to come back here!" He said as we walked by, which stopped me.

I walked over to him silently, looking over his new buddies. Then, I crossed my arms and said, "What's the matter? So scared shitless of me after our last encounter that you had to bring more backup?" This caused one of the Batarians to chuckle slightly.

"I'm not scared of you!" He yelled back, drawing his little pistol and pointing it at my head. I didn't flinch. "Who's the tough guy now, huh human?"

"Oh, it's still me." I answered, quickly snatching the pistol out of his hand and pistol-whipping his face with it. He hit the ground like a sack of bricks. I was so quick that his buddies didn't even have a chance to aim their rifles at me.

I dropped the pistol on the lead Batarian's face, motioning for the other Batarians to leave. After they scraped their ballsy leader off the ground, we continued to walk down the hall way as if nothing ever happened.

"You certainly have a way with people, Sean." Thomas quipped with a smile.

The doors opened, blasting us with loud music. I quickly scanned the bar, finding Garrus and his Turian friend sitting in one of the large booths. I pointed it out to everyone else, and we walked in unison. I looked up at Aria's loft, seeing her give me and the others questionable looks. I found that hilarious.

"Hey Garrus!" I said with friendly draw. "Long time no see!"

"Same can he said here!" Garrus replied in an uplifted tone. "I see you're even still wearing that old helmet."

"Hey, I paid a lot of good money for this thing!" I shot back, sitting down next to him. His turian friend was slimmer than he was, making me wonder... was that a female Turian.

"These are the people you told me about, Garrus?" She said, confirming my thoughts. "They barely look old enough to fire their own weapons."

"These people, this one in particular, practically saved the Citadel, Melanis." Garrus replied, pointing at me. "He lost his arm and almost lost his life feeding Saren a live grenade."

This female turian, Melanis, then stared at me for a long ten seconds before nodding her head in approval.

"_Good to know I meet her standards._" I thought grudgingly as we all started talking among one another. Garrus explained that we would be going to his "base of operations" to discuss the details of the mission.

We sat there for a while, drinking badly filtered water while talking about an assortment of things. Garrus went on a rant about how many Citadel regulations Thomas's sniper rifle broke, Weigman played the quiet game, John and Allen eventually started arguing about heavy weapons again, and Sydney sat quietly as she read another one of those damn books.

Surprisingly, Melanis started asking me a lot of questions about Saren and out mission to stop him. From the way she mentioned him, you could tell she really hated him. I even described how I ripped a krogan Battlemaster's head plate off, gaining a humph of approval. I eventually described the final battle with him, where he shot himself and turned into that super-husk thing. Melanis was very interested in this.

"You are ether brave, stupid, or both to pull off a move like that." She commented, taking another sip of her beverage. "How long did it take for you to recover?"

"About a week." I replied, causing her to give me the turian equivalent of a surprised face.

"Wait, It only took you, a human, a WEEK to recover from a HE grenade explosion?" She asked in an elevated tone.

"Yep, a week to heal, recover, and adjust to the new cybernetics." I answered, finishing off my glass of water. "Was comatose for three days."

Suddenly, Melanis stopped looking at me and instead started focusing on the front doors we enter in.

"Well, get ready to put those skills to good use." She said, taking out a pistol and placing it on her lap. "We have company."

All of us stopped what we were doing to look at the front doors. There were about ten batarians in full armor walking in with assault rifles and shotguns. There were also two other batarians carrying...

A Sand Bomb.

The most armored batarian, the leader I was guessing, fired his shotgun into the air, cutting off the music and any other conversations in the club.

"Aria T'Loak!" He shouted up towards her booth, causing her to give him the "I will make your life a living hell" look. "We would like a "word" with you!"

The other batarians began to fan out along the club floor, eying up everyone as they went. Two of them covered our table, probably considering us a greater threat than the rest of the patrons.

The two batarians set the bomb down, and began to work on the console.

"I thought Aria's security would have taken care of these assholes by now." Allen whispered to me as the leader started walking towards her booth.

"If they hit the bomb, the place goes up in sand." I replied, as several antagonizing seconds droned by.

After about a minute of what we guesses were "negotiations" with Aria, since we couldn't hear anything, there were two sharp cracks that echoed through the music-less club. Everyone quickly looked around, seeing the batarians who were working on the bomb drop with clean holes through their heads.

The batarian guards started shooting up at the ceiling where the shots came from, attempting to hit their attacker. This left them completely open.

All of us quickly jumped up out of our seats into action. I swung my arm blade around at one of the goons, taking his head completely off. Weigman took care of the other one with his retractable sword, sinking it into his back with ease.

The others almost flew over us, firing their weapons at the remaining batarians. At this point, Aria's henchmen and a few other patrons fired their own weapons as well, cutting down the remaining batarians. They didn't have a chance.

Not long after their bodies had hit the floor, the lead batarian flew through the glass of Aria's privacy box, hitting the ground below with a loud crack and splat sound. Everyone looked up at Aria herself, who was crackling with biotic energy and had a pissed off expression.

"All of you, get the fuck out." She said down to everyone in the club with what sounded like a seething rage. As ordered, we all quickly walked out of Afterlife past the dead bodies and the bomb.

"Um... can someone explain to me what in the holy mother of fuck just happened?" Allen asked as we broke into a run behind Garrus.

"Luske has been trying to take Aria's throne for the last month now, which has caused chaos here." Garrus explained. "I'm guessing that was another failed attempt on her life."

"Where are we going?" I asked, as we turned down an alleyway.

"Our shuttle is parked a little ways down here." Melanis answered, as suddenly something dropped down into the alleyway. Something shaped like a human with glowing red eyes.

"What is that?" John asked, aiming his Vindicator at the shape.

"Hold on for a second..." I said, holding out my hand in a stopping motion towards everyone else and stepping forward. "Identify yourself!"

The shape walked out of the shadows, revealing itself to not even be human, or alien. It was actually a robot, colored a rusty red. I couldn't believe my eyes.

"HK-47 is ready to serve, Master." It answered, walking up to me and holstering it's rifle. "Statement: I trust you enjoyed my work."

…

**A/N: I must give a big thank those who voted in the poll. This is your fault, not mine. :/**

**Anyway, that's the start of the mission, I suppose. If you have any suggestions for what HK-47 should do in the story, go ahead and tell me in a review!**


	44. Ambush

John's POV

Archangel's Headquarters

Things were rather... involved inside Garrus's briefing room. Sean, Thomas and Allen were currently in there getting all the details, while we opted to stay outside with Sydney while she remotely piloted our shuttle here.

Oh, the assassin "droid" was also out here with us, too. Sean had to quickly make up an explanation as to why it was here, convincing Garrus and this... Melanis that it was a prototype LOKI mech sent to us by Admiral Hackett. After they were both out of earshot, It explained that it was sent here to assist us. Sent by who, it did not know. I amused myself by asking it other questions.

"So where are you from?" I asked casually, being bored.

"Answer: This unit... does not know." HK-47 replied, standing still as it's head jerked constantly from side to side. "This unit activated with the mission to find and accompany your team for the rest of your journey. It was in the oddest of places, I might add."

"Where were you activated?" I asked, curious as to why it was so... odd.

"Statement: My unit's primary power supply activated inside one of the storage rooms of the entertainment club Afterlife." HK replied, looking at Sydney as she held two glowing omni-tool sticks that were supposed to be her shuttle controls. "When my photoreceptors activated, a meatbag creature you know as a Varren was chewing on my hand."

"Meatbag?" I quoted quizzically, slightly amused by the phrase. "What the hell is a meatbag?"

"Answer: Whenever I look at one of you... organics, all my sensors can see is all the water sloshing around inside your flesh coating. It is most...unpleasant."

"So you call any alien, including us, meatbags?" I asked with renowned interest and smile. "That's pretty funny."

"Explanation: It's just that, you have all these squishy parts, Master. And all that water! How the constant sloshing doesn't drive you mad, I have no idea..."

After I was done laughing a few seconds later, I heard a whine in the distance. I turned around, looking down the bottomless metal canyon to see our shuttle speeding towards us. I turned back around, seeing Sean and the others coming out of Garrus's hideout.

"Alright, are we almost ready to go?" Sean asked loudly as he walked.

"The ride is coming in for a landing now." Sydney said, as her controls disappeared and the shuttle hovered up and landed next to Melanis's.

"Alright, everyone pile inside and I'll explain the mission details."

...

Sean's POV

"Alright, we are going on a joint attack with Archangel's team to take out Luske's base of operations, along with Luske himself." I said with determination. "His "family" is based out of the Derca District, mostly in the abandoned Aversa Warehouse and parts of the residential area. Our mission will be to take out the warehouse and destroy it."

"Sounds like fun." Allen said with a smile, rubbing his hands together. "What are the specifics?"

"Currently, the warehouse is a makeshift fortress. Luske has gone through the considerable effort of sealing off as many of the entrances that he could, and has fortified the remaining ones with enough firepower to level the Inner Harbor." I explained in detail as everyone listened, even HK. Despite being one of my favorite video game characters, he scared the shit out of me.

"Why is it so heavily defended?" John asked, rubbing his head.

"Archangel suspects this is where all of Luske's Red Sand operations take place." I answered, opening up a holographic floor plan of the warehouse. "It's his biggest money-maker here on Omega."

"We'll be entering from the roof, where the ventilation units are still functioning. We'll slip inside, and then find out what's on the inside. John and Thomas, you'll stay at the shuttle to cover our evac."

"Statement: This is a bad plan, master." HK-47 quipped up, looking at me.

"Why is that, HK?" I asked, mildly curious as to what he thought was wrong.

"Answer: If you disable the cooling units to gain entry, one of the meatbags inside may notice, and possibly discover us as they investigate the cause of the malfunction."

I droned over what HK said for a few seconds, impressed.

"Alright, but then how are we supposed to get inside?" I asked HK, as it stared at the hologram of the warehouse.

"Suggestion: I would recommend entering through the sewer system and then using the Boiler Room to gain entry to the basement." He pointed out, highlighting the sewer on the map. "This route offers the most stealthy approach, and exposes your team to less direct visual contact with other meatbags."

"Good point." I agreed, looking back around at my friends. "Alright, we'll enter thought the sewer system instead. Thank you, HK."

"Response: I'm glad you approve, master." HK-47 replied in a slightly happier tone. "This will be fun."

"Oh, that reminds me HK, give me a quick rundown of your abilities so I can use you to your fullest extent." I asked, remembering off the top of my head to ask. "I haven't had much time to ask."

"Request: First master, I'd like to ask that if you need any meatbags killed, that you permit me to deal with them. I am equipped with a large range of assassination options if they must be handled in any specific way, and I would love to practice them." HK requested matter-of-factly, taking his large, unfamiliar rifle off his back.

"I will take that into consideration, don't you worry." I assured, holding up my hand in a stopping motion. "I'm well aware of your Assassination Protocols, but I want a rundown of your other abilities."

"Statement: Oh, very well, Master. In the interest of time, however, I will only tell you my most useful ones. This unit is equipped with a cloaking system that allows me to disappear from an inferior meatbag's terrible vision, along with a set of omni-blades for anything that gets to close. There is also a flamethrower concealed in my right arm, allowing me to incinerate organics, you wish removed from the galaxy." HK laid out as we reached our destination.

"Good, we'll go over the rest of them once the mission is over."

"Statement: As you desire, master. Signing off."

…

"Weigman, any lifeforms above us?" I asked as we reached the bottom of the Boiler Room.

"No, there's no life on the entire floor from what I can tell." He replied, leaning against the sewer wall as he scanned. "It should be safe to enter."

I looked at everyone, making sure they all had their re-breathers on. After everyone was in position, I gave the order.

"Allen, burn it." I ordered, as he took some thermite paste out of his backpack and slapped it on the secured hatch.

"Cover your eyes." Allen warned, as he ignited the paste. There was a brief flash of light, then a cloud of steam. Where the hatch once was, there was now a glowing hot chunk of metal filled with holes. The light shining through was apparent with the mixture of smoke and steam in the air.

We pushed the soft metal out of the way, easily getting into the decrepit Boiler Room with ease. That's when we found out what this room was now being used for.

"Oh god..." Sydney exclaimed, freezing in her tracks.

There was a dead human wearing a bloodied business suit. He had been tied to a chair an appeared to have been beaten to death with several blunt objects.

"Looks like Luske doesn't fuck around." Weigman commented wearily, picking up a pipe that was covered in blood.

"The madman set off a Sand Bomb in a residential district, and only now you are saying that?" Sydney mocked, yanking the pipe out of his hand and placing it back on the table. "Quit messing around, we have a job to finish.

We left the room, going through the hallway and up the stairs to the next one.

"HK, go scout out the main floor while we clear these rooms." I ordered, deadpanning at the droid. It ran off without a word, leaving us to the rooms.

"Alright, who do we have here Weigman?" I asked, as we huddled.

"These four rooms are all occupied." He answered, pointing at each door. "There are three in that room, five in that one, two in this one, and there's only one guy in that room."

"Good." I complemented as we evened out and stacked on each respective door. "On my mark... three... two... one... break!"

We all broke into each room, blasting all the mercenaries inside each with our silenced weapons.

"Report!" I barked quickly.

"_All clear!_" Came the response from each channel.

"Very good, everybody. Hold your positions." I said, re-opening my link with HK-47. "HK, what do you see down there?"

"_Observation: There are 27 guards patrolling the warehouse floor, and an additional 19 in the main offices._" HK replied swiftly, then paused. "_Amendment: Five more meatbags have just arrived from the roof._"

"Can you give me a visual?" I asked, as a pop-up appeared in the corner of my HUD.

An industrial elevator began descending from the roof directly into the main floor. On it were two guards flanking a well-dressed batarian. It was Luske.

"HK, that one in the suit is our target." I identified in the feed. "Track him until we're ready to take him out. If he attempts to leave in his shuttle or otherwise, kill him."

"_Agreement: This was my thought as well, master_. _He will not escape._" HK replied, closing the line and the feed.

I turned around to face my friends, who were patiently waiting for me.

"Alright everyone, Luske has arrived." I said with seriousness. "HK will trace him until we're finished our job. Let's get it done."

…

Allen's POV

Five Minutes Later

"The charges are set, Sean. Has anything happened yet?" I asked, slapping my final block of C5 in the warehouse supports with a clack.

"_No, so far everything has been quiet up here._" Sean replied, sounding nervous. "_Hurry up and get back to the basement._"

"What's wrong?" I asked, noticing the tone in his voice as I began to move.

"_I don't know, something doesn't feel right._" He answered quietly. _"You'd think someone would have noticed a few of the guards going missing by now. Hurry up._"

I made my way back around to the hallway, seeing that it was still vacant. I was starting to understand why Sean was feeling uneasy. I quickly ran back to the melted hatch, where everyone was waiting for me, with the exception of HK-47.

"So where's the droid?" I asked, taking immediate notice of it's absence.

"I can't reach him." Sean replied, fiddling with the settings on his omni-tool. "We have to get out of here.

Sean then attempted to connect to HK once more, but with no signal.

"HK, if you can here me, get out of the warehouse as fast a you can and rendezvous at the shuttle." Sean said loudly into his helmet. "We're blowing it in three minutes."

All of us piled back into the sewers and ran like devils away from the warehouse as my timer ticked down. We eventually make it to the exit, jumping through and walking to the shuttle. That's when we all noticed something was REALLY wrong...

John and Thomas were gone.

"Um... where are they?" I asked, looking around at the abandoned buildings. There was no sign of them.

"I'll look inside the shuttle." Sydney said, opening the doors.

In a split second, we were ambushed by seven heavily-armored Cerberus troopers. They were on us in seconds, jumping each of us before we could react.

I was tackled to the ground with a electrical baton as one of the troopers yanked the weapons off my back and slap a pair of shock cuffs on. The moment I tried to regain my composure, the cuffs sent painful currents of electricity through my body, forcing my muscles to seize up in a matter of seconds.

All I could do is watch as Cerberus took down my other friends. They subdued Sydney rather quickly, Weigman managed to graze on of them with his sword before being disarmed, and Sean was shot with a large dart that also electrocuted him. Two of the troops forcefully disconnected his arm, causing him to yell in extreme pain. I managed to spot John and Thomas, who were both bound inside the shuttle.

A few moments of silence passed, before a woman wearing a skimpy jumpsuit walked out of the cockpit. I couldn't believe my eyes.

It was Miranda Lawson. Cerberus bitch in the flesh.

"It's about time that we've finally caught you." Miranda addressed to all of us, placing her hands on her hips. "You six have been a thorn in the Illusive Man's side for way too long."

She picked up Sean's clacker, pressing it as the warehouse went up in a massive explosion.

"Fucking Cerberus cheerleader..." I mocked bitterly, as Miranda took out a small remote an pressed a button on it. I was once again engulfed in unimaginable pain.

"You're going to kill him!" Sydney yelled in anguish. Miranda looked at her for a few seconds before finally shutting off the cuffs.

"Speak up again and I WILL fry you!" Miranda threatened, pointing at me.

"What do you people want with us?" Sean asked in an exhausted tone, trying to take some of the heat away from me.

"You mean besides destroying several of our facilities and killing hundreds of our members?" Miranda mocked, folding her arms. "The Illusive Man wants to find out how you virtually don't exist in anybody's databases, and have biotics to go with it."

Sean didn't have an answer for that. He stayed quiet, staring at the ground with a scornful look on his face. Miranda, feeling that the brief conversation was over, motioned with her fingers. The accompanying troopers picked us up by the cuffs and dragged us towards a descending UT-47 Kodiak.

When the shuttle hit the ground, the hatch opened revealing a single trooper holding an odd rifle.

"Wait, where's Rojas and Matthews?" Miranda asked quizzically, stepping one foot forward.

With lightning fast speed, the trooper quickly shot each Cerberus trooper in between their eyes, piercing their helmets and shields.

"What the he-" Miranda shouted, as the trooper punched her in the face, knocking her out. Right in the FUCKING FACE.

"Wha...who are you?" Sean asked, dumbfounded.

"Commentary: Oh master, I am so disappointed in you right now. I'm surprised that you weren't able to see the ambush more quickly." The trooper replied, as the armor and helmet shimmered away, revealing HK-47.

"HK!" Sean exclaimed, as all of our cuffs shut off. "Where the hell did you go?"

"Explanation: While scanning the warehouse, I came across several Cerberus listening devices planted on the walls. Shortly afterwards, several of their commandos raided the warehouse, killing Luske and all his meatbag workers. I killed them, assumed the visage of one of them, ans stole their shuttle." HK explained quite quickly as we all began picking up our things. Sean reinserted his prosthetic arm with a yelp of pain.

"Why didn't you kill her, and why didn't you radio back to me?" Sean asked, sounding slightly more angry this time as he rolled his arm around..

"Answer: Cerberus had activated a jamming device that blocked all outbound communications, master. Your team was too many floors down for the jammer to have any affect on your team." HK answered matter-of-factly.

"And what about Lawson?" I questioned this time, tipping my hand towards her. "Why did you kill the others and not her.

"Explanation: I have no idea, master. There appears to be a block in my programming core that prevented me from permanently damaging the female meatbag. I find this most shameful."

"Ha, I guess the killer robot isn't as killer as I thought it was." Weigman quipped, slipping his Recon Hood back over his head.

"Observation: I can hardly be blamed for my programming, master. Do not worry, I am still well-capable of killing most anything for you." HK reassured, placing his rifle back.

Suddenly, our shuttle went up in flames as a planted explosive went off inside.

"God damn it." Sydney remarked bitterly, freezing in her tracks and taking off her helmet. "Fucking great."

I looked back around at the UT-47 Kodiak HK had arrived in, having an idea.

"Hey Syd, we could steal Cerberus's Kodiak shuttle for ourselves." I offered, causing her face to light back up.

"That'll work." She agreed, walking inside and examining the cockpit. I could already tell she liked this thing a lot. "We'll be good to go in a minute."

"Alright then, everyone get into our new ride. Allen, help me with the Cerberus bitch. We can interrogate her for more Cerberus information" Sean ordered, as we took Miranda's arms an pulled he inside.

We secured her to one of the seats meant for us, making sure there was no way for her to move.

"Alright, let's get the hell out of here." Sean said as we took off from the burning district.

…

**A/N: I am deeply sorry for the delay, everybody. My summer job has gotten the better of me and my creative writing skills, giving me very little time to work on my story. I hope you like it!**

**As always, please fav and review the story! This is GIR, signing out!**


	45. Interrogations

Thomas's POV

Several Hours After Mission

After reaching the Endar Spire in our new ride, we quickly had Miranda Lawson strapped to a biotic-proof interrogation chair we had bought. It was inside a secure compartment on the ship that was refitted with one-way glass. Just in case the subject somehow manages to get free, there is an emergency tear gas system installed in the ceiling that can be set off with a push of a button.

My hand drifted over the button as I watched Miranda in the chair. I knew Miranda was more clever than she looked. Even if she wasn't yet conscious.

"Are you sure we should be letting just Sean and HK do this?" Allen asked from the chair next to me. "He's been kinda... unstable with Cerberus, and HK is a bloodthirsty droid."

"He'll be fine for now." I reassured, looking back into the room. "If things do happen to escalate, we'll break it up together."

"Is she ready yet?" Sean asked from the other side of the glass, folding his hands.

"No, she's still knocked out." I answered, looking at the status monitor above me. "Want me to use the adrenaline?"

"Do it, I'm sick of waiting." Sean agreed, as I entered the command on the console. A few seconds later, Lawson started moving a bit.

"Lawson!" Sean shouted, as Miranda snapped her head up straight.

"Wha-" Miranda said, as she tried to charge up her biotics with no avail. "Where am I?"

"How does it feel when the tables are turned, Miss Laswon?" Sean asked, putting his hands on the ends of the chair. "How does it feel when you are completely helpless?"

"Bastard." Miranda remarked bitterly, looking around the room. Trying to find a weakness in it. "What do you want with me?"

"We want answers." Sean deadpanned, taking off his helmet and looking into her eyes. "We want a lot of answers."

Sean walked towards the window, folding his hands behind his back.

"Tell me how you found us on Omega." Sean asked, looking at Miranda in the reflection.

"And why should I tell you?" Miranda mocked with a scowl.

Sean put his hand into the air and snapped his fingers, as a bolt of energy shot through the chair into Lawson. Lawson screamed, something I've never heard her do. It sounded painful.

"Fact: Electrocution works well, evisceration and blunt trauma also work well, I understand." HK quipped a few seconds afterwards.

"Wait, what's not a V.I..." Miranda remarked, staring at HK. "You're using a A.I.?"

Another jolt went through the chair, making Miranda scream again.

"Answer my question!" Sean yelled, slamming his fist on the side of the chair. "How did you find us?"

"We... we were contacted by the batarian... he knew you were coming and wanted your bounty." Miranda caved in with a death stare. "He contacted us, and we came in."

"Very good, Miri." Sean said with approval.

"How do you even know my name?" Miranda asked, sounding even angrier, as if someone broke her privacy.

"Oh, we know a lot about you, Miss Lawson." Sean said with a smile and oily tone to match. "Genetically-perfect Cerberus bitch born in Sydney, Australia, was constantly controlled by her father until she ran away from home as a kid..."

Miranda looked... shocked, as Sean said all of this. She actually looked nervous now.

"What... how did you..." She started, as Sean cut her off.

"AND, she has a little sister called Orianna that was ALSO created by the same father." Sean said with a devious look of dominance on his face.

Miranda didn't look nervous now. She looked scared.

"You... know about Orianna?" Miranda asked, getting very quiet. "No, that can't be possible..."

"Yes we do, Miss Lawson." Sean said, calming down. "Now the least you can do is respect our intelligence and just answer our questions. Then we'll let you go."

Miranda looked down and thought hard about this for several seconds, until she finally looked up again.

"Fine, I'll tell you whatever I know, just don't do anything to my sister." Miranda pleaded, actually sounding pitiful.

"That's all we wanted." Sean said calmly. "Now... tell me everything you know about us..."

"Fine...In your dossiers, they told me that you all have no registry in any databases that we have access to, you all have biotic abilities from unknown sources, you have advanced weapons that you stole from the Cloning Facility on Virmire, and have destroyed several of our facilities in the Attican Traverse." Miranda laid out calmly and without resistance. "You are all basically a bunch of sick nobodies."

"That's pretty accurate to what we've ascertained." Sean agreed, rubbing his chin. "Now... where were you going to take me and my friends after you had captured us?"

"We were going to take you to one of our bases in the Terminus Systems." Miranda said, sounding slightly more resistant to our questioning.

"Where exactly, might I ask?" Sean questioned, getting a tinge of annoyance in his face.

"I'm not going to betray Cerberus that easily." Miranda said, sounding cocky once again. "You may know about my sister somehow, but there is no way you know where she actually is."

"Yet, there's no way for you to know that for sure." Sean said with an argumentative tinge.

"I can tell you're lying when you say that, bastard." Miranda said, breaking back into the bitch mode. "You've touched your face too many time while talking about her for it to all be truth."

Sean took a respectful step backwards, sighing and scratching his neck.

"Well then, I guess we'll have to stick with our other method." Sean said as the chair sent several more bolts of electricity into Lawson. She once again screamed in pain.

"Where the hell is your drop-off point?" Sean questioned loudly.

"No." Miranda replied stubbornly, convulsing as the chair shocked her several more times. This resulted in even more screaming.

"Tell me, or so help me god I will fry you!" Sean yelled, starting to sound as if he was losing control.

Then Miranda spit in his face. That set Sean off. He pressed that button down and didn't let go.

"Holy shit, quick!" Allen yelled, jumping out of his chair as I followed.

We burst into the room, grabbing Sean and distancing him from Miranda.

"Come on Sean, ease down... ease down." I pleaded, pushing him against the wall.

Eventually he did finally calm down, as Allen took him out of the room. I was still there with HK.

Miranda looked exhausted, panting heavily after the large shock Sean had put her through.

"You're lucky he didn't just kill you." I told Miranda casually. "He really would have fried you, especially since your part of Cerberus."

"What does your group have against us in the first place?" Miranda asked quizzically. "It's entirely possible that the Illusive Man may have never taken notice of you six if not for your attacks on Cerberus facilities."

"Hmm... that's a good question..." I said, leaning on the interrogation chair. "Maybe it has something to do with you using Alliance soldiers in your sick and unethical experiments? Hardly seems pro-human to do sick shit like you people do."

"What?" Miranda exclaimed, sounding confused. "Cerberus doesn't conduct experiments on humans, let alone Alliance soldiers."

"Really? You know that for a fact?" I questioned, giving her a dumb look as I went through my omni-tool files. "I think you may have been lied to, Miss Lawson."

"The Illusive Man told me himself." Miranda stated matter-of-factly. "He would never lie to one of his most trusted agents."

"Well, here's a shocker for you, Miranda." I said, playing the direct video recording of Weigman's assignment in the Cerberus base in the Attican Traverse. She saw everything, and I mean everything. From the experiment that was being preformed on Emily, to the prisoners, to the pile of dead bodies in the facilities disposal room.

Through the entire thing, I saw Miranda cringe several times, until the video ended. She looked disturbed.

"This can't be right..." Miranda finally said, looking down and shaking her head. "The Illusive Man told me..."

"The Illusive Man LIED to you!" I said, raising my voice a little bit. "You all operate in disconnected cells! He can tell this cell one thing and tell another one something completely different!"

Miranda got very quiet afterwards, closing her eyes and putting her head back. I assumed that she was done talking to me.

"HK, keep an eye on her." I said, walking out of the room and closing the door.

…

Sean's POV

An Hour Later

I sat in my room once more, drinking another cup of soda. I was angry.

Not at Miranda, despite the fact that I hate Cerberus. I was mad at myself. I had lost control over something so controllable. It was both shameful and degrading at the same time.

I rubbed by forehead, knowing that if I was still normal, I'd have another blasted headache by now. I was interrupted by a beeping noise on the comm panel.

"What is it, Sydney?" I asked, taking another sip of my cold soda.

"_If only I was old enough to drink whiskey..._" I thought for a split second as her face appeared.

"Your overdue for your Neuropozyne injection again." Sydney stated with a frown. "You know if you don't get it every month you'll begin to develop Rejection Syndrome, right?"

"Yeah, you bug me all the time about it." I said, throwing my hoodie and boots on. "I'll be down in a minute.

The screen shut off as I left my room and walked down the hallway. Just as I reached the elevator, Thomas popped out, looking hard at me. The transaction was wordless as he followed me into the elevator.

"Sean, what happened down there?" Thomas asked me with concern in his voice as the doors closed. "You... well, you flipped out."

"I always hated Miranda in the games." I said with disgust, leaning on the wall.

"But why did you shock her so much?" He questioned, looking worried. "We already had her omni-tool data, you didn't need to cook her in her seat."

"I… wanted her to admit that I was... better than her." I explained, thinking up the words to explain by actions.

"Something about her, just makes be want to crush something." I said, taking my hands and acting as if I was crushing a ball. "She just makes me angrier than anything."

"Well, for now on Allen and I will handle the interrogation of Cerberus operatives." Thomas declared. "You get way too emotional when it comes to them."

"Fine, I guess you're right." I agreed, giving Thomas a light punch in the shoulder as the elevator reached my floor. "You figure out what to do with her, cause' I'm done."

I walked down the long hallway, walking into the Med Bay where Sydney was waiting for me.

"So, this time the injection process will be a little different." Sydney stated, taking a needle and jabbing it into the Neuropozyne bottle.

"Um...in what way?" I asked, slightly nervous.

"Well, since your arm was forcibly removed by that Cerberus commando, your nerves likely suffered some trauma." She explained as I took off my shirt and sat in the special chair. "To prevent lasting nerve damage, I'll have to remove your arm correctly and apply several shots of your own stem cells to your metal shoulder joint to help repair it."

"Wait, my stem cells?" I asked, confused. "Where the hell did you get my stem cells?"

"I haven't gotten them yet, but I'll extract them from your blood and then cultivate them." Sydney answered, inserting the bottle from the end of the needle into a weird looking gun. She look this gun and injected my Neuropozyne directly into my arm's injection port.

"And how long in this going to take?" I asked, worried about time.

"With the repair process, about three hours." She said, cleaning off the end of the gun and placing it on the table. "Want me just to knock you out?"

"I guess so." I agreed, as Sydney screwed another bottle to the gun and injected me directly in the neck.

"Sweet dreams." She said as things went fuzzy and I fell asleep.

…

Weigman's POV

"So, what are you planning to do with her?" I asked Thomas as we observed her through the one-way window. "Personally, I think we should throw her in a escape pod and let her freeze to death in space."

"Come on, Weigman. You have to understand that she'll eventually turn around." Thomas argued, sitting down at one of the consoles. "Underneath that bitchy exterior, there's a kind woman."

"She didn't seem very kind while she was electrocuting Allen." I threw in with a glare, causing Thomas to sigh loudly.

"Look, I think it's best that we drop her off back on Omega." Thomas reasoned, looking closely at me. "We'd have less to do that way."

"Fine." Weigman agreed bitterly, as I turned on the mic.

"Well Miss Lawson, It's been fun having you visit us this fine day, but it's time to say our goodbyes." Thomas said over the speakers, as he directed the chair to inject her with a large dosage of knockout serum. After she slumped over in her chair, he turned to face me.

"Get her to the shuttle while I make an announcement to the ship." He ordered, standing up. "Take HK-47 with you to be safe."

Five minutes later, I have Miranda strapped tightly to the prisoner seat as Thomas runs up the the shuttle holding Sydney's piloting helmet.

"Did you ask you use that?" I asked as Thomas threw on the helmet.

"Nope." He replied, starting up the engines and closing the door.

"Master, why can't we kill the meatbag?" HK asked me as I strapped myself into one of the seats. "It would be so much fun!"

"I wish we could, but we can't." I answered, staring bitterly at the inert Miranda. "Sorry."

…

**A/N: This the last chapter before I start school again, everybody. They'll either be a significant increase or decrease in chapter from this moment forth.**

**Enjoy! Remember to leave a review and subscribe to my story if you haven't already!**

**This is GIR, signing out! **


	46. New Upgrades

...

Sean's POV

Before I even opened my eyes, I knew where I was. I was in that... place again. I cursed myself for a second for not remembering this.

"You have been avoiding me?" The Prothean questioned, walking towards me.

"Sorry, but I kinda miss having dreams." I said in a condescending tone, rubbing my head. "I already told you this."

The Prothean got a slightly annoyed look on his face, as he turned around and started walking towards something in the distance. I quickly got on my feet to catch up with him.

"Um... I'm sorry." I apologized, walking next to him.

"I understand." The Prothean sympathized, looking ahead. "During our war, It was do or die. I've yet to learn we still have a while until the Reapers arrive."

"We have at least a year and a half." I added as we neared the object.

"That is true." He agreed, stopping and looking at me. "How about we do this. I'll teach you something powerful today, If you agree to sleep more often."

"What's this powerful ability?" I asked, interested.

"Do you remember that day on Virmire when you encountered those abominations?" The Prothean questioned, looking ahead at the object.

"God, how could I forget it..." I said, thinking back to those things. "I still don't understand how Necromorphs appeared in this universe..."

"Necromorphs?" The Prothean asked quizzically, looking very hard at me. "Is that what they were?"

"I assumed you knew, seeing as how you can read my thoughts." I said, giving him a smart look. "Why are you so interested all of the sudden?"

Two chairs materialized as the Prothean sat down in one of the chairs. He asked me to sit, which I did.

"Necromorphs..." The Prothean said, staring hard at the ground. "Many years before the Reapers... our species encountered a strange life form that reanimated the dead... the planet...no, that can't be possible..."

The Prothean then looked up quickly at me, looking at me with a dire stare.

"You must allow me to delve into your memories." He said with urgency, standing up and walking over to me. "How do you know of the Necromorphs?"

"Well... back when I was still in my world, there was this game called Dead Space, where they took over this mining ship floating in space." I explained, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

The Prothean then put his hand on my head, as I felt his presence in my mind. I could feel him shifting through my memories like folders on a computer, as he reached my memories of Dead Space.

"That...that is strange..." The Prothean said, eyes still closed. "You humans are certainly interesting."

"Why?" I asked, getting antsy.

"Your world has somehow conceived of the same creatures we fought so many years ago... different, but still frighteningly similar." The Prothean said, taking his hand off my head and opening his eyes. "There are some fundamental differences, though."

"Wait, what's your species history with the Necromorphs?" I asked, suddenly very curious.

"We encountered them well over a thousand years before the Reapers arrived." The Prothean stated, sitting back down in his chair. "We were exploring the outer reaches of our space, right on the border of the galaxy. We found a planet that remains without a name, which contained large deposits of element zero. When our research teams landed, they found the planet infested with spores of a weird genetic makeup."

The scene around me shifted to that of a weird planet that had a strange green mist in the air.

"When they came back, the spores somehow survived decontamination and began to infect the ship. Eventually, they mutated our scientist into these horrible creatures comparable to your Necromorphs." The Prothean continued, as the scenes continued to shift around me. "My people eventually destroyed the ship they were on and bombed the planet until it was nothing but glass and fire. We thought that was the end of them."

"But you were wrong." I said, standing up and walking over to the Prothean. "Saren must have found them, and planned to use them as a biological weapon on the galaxy."

"If Saren found the planet and managed to locate surviving spores... then that means any species could find them." The Prothean said, still staring at the ground. He finally looked up at me, standing up.

"No matter, we have something more important to work on right now." The Prothean said, reassuming his neutral expression. "When you were being attacked, you unleashed that biotic shockwave that disintegrated all those monsters, correct?"

"Yeah, what about it?" I replied, staring at the container. "I've been trying ever since then to use that ability again."

"I haven't been letting you." The Prothean said without looking at me. "You weren't ready to use it properly yet."

"Then how come I used it in that locked chamber?" I asked, a little angry.

"I let you use it there because it was necessary for your survival." The Prothean replied calmly, still staring at the container. "Oh, on that note, and you really should tell Allen that the toxin removal ability I taught you two isn't meant for winning Ryncol drinking bets."

"Um... that was completely him." I said, chuckling and rubbing the back of my neck nervously. "He didn't want to have that Krogan have the last laugh."

"Anyway, I will finally teach you how to use that very ability if you agree to sleep more often and allow me to train you." The Prothean said, holding out his hand. "Are we in agreement?"

"Sure, I guess." I said accepting his hand and shaking it.

"Very well." He replied, placing his hand on my head. "I will warn you, this ability drains your strength very quickly if you use it too much. Use it sparingly."

"Alright then." I agreed, as the Prothean sent signals to my brain. When the feeling stopped, I felt nothing.

"Wait, what did you do?" I asked, confused. "Don't I need to meditate?"

"You already know the ability, but now you can use it." The Prothean explained, looking at the object. Looking more closely at it, it appeared to be some sort of escape pod.

The hatch on it opened, as a Necromorph crawled out and started charging at me.

I panicked. It didn't matter if it was in my head, it still threatened and scared the shit out of me.

I tripped, falling over and I charged my biotics and sent a wave out that disintegrated the Necromorph instantly. The Prothean shook his head disapprovingly, as the hatch on the pod closed.

"You need to keep your fear in check." The Prothean said, as muffled yells could be heard from the inside of the pod. "That wave would have killed anybody friendly in it's path too. Try again."

And with that, the pod opened again as the Necromorph came charging at me again.

…

Thomas's POV

"So where should we leave her?" Weigman asked me as he came into the cockpit.

"I honestly have no idea." I answered, floating the shuttle around aimlessly. "The sedative has about two more hours before it wears off, so I want to put her somewhere where she won't be found for a while."

"Just drop her off in a dumpster." Weigman commented casually, looking down at the various alleyways below. "We don't need to give her a royal treatment."

"Fine, I guess so." I said, taking the Kodiak in for a landing.

We landed in one of the more run-down alleys, just barely squeezing in. We both unstrapped Miranda from the chair, throwing her inside an empty dumpster.

"Well... that was anti-climatic." Weigman commented, brushing off his hands. "What do you want to do?"

"We could go look around the Gozu District marketplace." I suggested with a smirk. "Apparently things are kept really calm over there by the Blue Suns."

"Sure." He agreed, taking off his mask and slipping it inside the shuttle storage compartment. "What should we do with HK?"

"We can always use muscle." I said with a chuckle. "HK, want to go to the Gozu District with us?"

"Statement: Honestly, I'd rather be out killing meatbags right now, master." HK replied in a disapproving tone.

"Hey, if things take a turn for the worst, you may get to do just that." Weigman said, patting HK on the shoulder as we both got back inside the shuttle. "Want to take the opportunity?"

"Answer: Certainly, why not? I am an intelligent droid, you know. I see an opportunity, and I take it." HK answered with a starky tone.

"I'll take that as a yes, then." Weigman said, strapping himself to the co-pilot seat. "Shut the hatch."

…

After dropping the shuttle off safely, we proceeded to explore the Gozu District. Eventually, we came across a decent-looking restaurant run by a human and his turian partner. We sat down to grab a bite to eat, while HK sat down in a seat next to us. Nobody came near us with him sitting there, which made me laugh.

Eventually, I grew bored with waiting on Weigman to finish his ramen, so I opted to instead ask HK questions.

"So HK, what were you using when you punched Lawson in the face?" I asked, putting down my cup and looking at him.

"Answer: I was using a holographic system installed in my body to appear as one of the dispatched Cerberus commandos." HK replied, sounding slightly more lively. "Opinion: It appeared to work extremely well against their inferior meatbag vision."

"Yeah, thanks for that, by the way." Weigman said, taking another sip of his ramen. "I nearly shit myself when I saw those Cerberus goons jump out of the shuttle."

"Yeah... a little too much detail." I said, rolling my eyes as I looked back at HK. "So what else do you have?"

"Continuation: I'm equipped with a signal jammer that allows me to block specific outbound and inbound communication, and disrupt video surveillance devices." HK explained, still staring at every passerby that walked past. "It is particularly useful in public areas."

"OK... what kind of rifle is that?" I asked, trying to kill the time.

Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice from behind me say, "Well, look what the Varren dragged in." When

I turned around, I saw Garrus standing behind me.

"God… this is one hell of a small world…" I said with a shocked face, adjusting myself so I was facing him. "Well… how did things go on your end?"

"Well, the sure went better than they did on your end." Garrus said, taking a seat next to me. "Allen told me what happened on your half of the job."

"Yeah…" I remarked, rubbing my neck with some embarrassment. "Those cowardly nut jobs would have gotten us if it weren't for this murderous automaton right here." I said, pointing at HK.

"Statement: Whatever I do is in support of my master. Whether it be giving a Cerberus trooper a Columbian Necktie, or being …*gulp* non-violent." HK said, making Weigman choke on a mouthful of Ramen as he laughed. Me and Garrus simply laughed out loud as Weigman forced down his noodles.

"Oh, that was good, Weigman!" I said, holding my chest from the laughs. "Your face was so red!"

"Shut the hell up, assholes." Weigman remarked, wiping away the saliva that had run out of his mouth.

"That felt like fire rolling down my throat just now."

We eventually simmered down, discussing the events of the last few months while that droid stared at us.

Sean's POV

I was slowly beginning to regain conscious as the medications Sydney gave me wore off. My mind was still racing from that long session with the Prothean, making me feel more hung-over than medicated.

"Oh good, your awake." Sydney said, putting down her book and swinging around in her chair to face me. "Your nerve repair went off without a hitch on my end, how do you feel?"

I moved my arm without a word, popping out all my attachments without one problem.

"It feels great." I complemented, making a fist. "Feels better than after my operation."

"That's wonderful to hear." Sydney said with happiness, as she grabbed my shirt and handed it back to me. "Thomas and Weigman dropped Lawson off a while ago, and met up with Garrus on the way. They're back on the ship now, so we can leave Omega whenever you give the word."

"Yeah, take us somewhere with a lot of beaches for a change." I said sarcastically as I pulled the shirt back over my head. "I get tired of destroying drug-lord factories all the time."

"Don't worry, we'll be at the Cerberus base very soon." Sydney said, putting her lab coat back on the hanger and walking out.

I left the lab as the ship began to rumble again, thinking about the base, when suddenly all the electricity in the ship went out and came back on a few seconds later. I quickly asked Bastila what happened, but received no response.I then went to a comm panel to ask what happened.

"Can someone tell me what the hell just happened to my ship?" I yelled in anger.

"Something is going on in the V.I. Core!" Allen replied, looking worried, "Meet me there!"

I used the maintenance ladder in the elevator shaft to get down since the elevator wasn't working, meeting Allen, Weigman, and John outside the Core.

"I don't know what happened." John said, as Allen and Weigman shot him angry looks. "HK walked out of the maintenance bay while I was working, and I didn't think anything about it."

"What's going on?" I asked as Allen handed me my Plasma Cutter.

"Genius here let HK-47 wander off and now he's doing something to the V.I. Core." Weigman explained, as Allen and John tried to pry the door open. "Whatever he's doing is affecting the ship's power grid."

Eventually the four of us finally managed to pry the door open, finding HK hooked into the Core. Then the lights went out again, enveloping everything in the red emergency lights.

"HK, what the fuck are you doing?!" Allen shouted, shaking the droid's shoulders.

"Explanation: I am attempting to upgrade your A.I. Core." HK said through the ships speakers, making me shiver a little bit. I was starting to think HK was trying to install himself on the ship.

Suddenly the lights came back on, and HK-47 started moving again.

And a hologram of Bastila appeared.

"Hello Sean." Bastila greeted with a smile, looking at her hands. "It's nice to... officially meet you."

…

**A/N: First chapter since the start of school! Sorry If it was a tad boring, but I had to get something out of the way before I forgot about it. Bastila has now been turned into an A.I., and the crew now has another ship member. **

**Fav my story and remember to leave a review, they always help motivate me! This is GIR, signing out.**


	47. Bastila And The Facility

"Jesus Christ, Tali is gonna have a fit when she hears about this..." Allen said, burying his face in his hands.

Allen was taking this sudden development particularly well compared to me. My mind was still violently spinning after the relativity recent events that had just occurred. I already thought it was risky enough keeping a homicidal A.I. with it's own body on-board, but now we had another that was built into our ship and all systems connected to it.

Personally, I was so angry at HK-47 right now that I felt tempted to disassemble him and dump his parts out the airlock, but I knew he was here for a reason, and that there was some sort of reasoning behind HK's new... "upgrades" to our formerly designated V.I. Core. But now's the time to focus on our new, unknown guest. I feared that HK's... erratic behavior rubbed off on Bastila...

I motioned for everyone to clear out of the room, triggering them to get up and remove HK from the room.

"So Bastila... tell me about yourself." I asked, breaking the thick sheet of tension that had filled the room.

"What specifically?" She inquired, looking quizzically at me.

"I don't really know where to start... how about a basic summary of your knowledge?" I asked, rubbing the back of my neck nervously.

"I have access to most forms of common, advanced, and expert information from most races of the galaxy, aside from the ones such as the Rachni and the Protheans, of course." Bastila answered calmly, folding her hands behind her back like she normally does. "I have extensive knowledge of the many religions, companies, and organizations associated with them as well."

"Alright... what do you know about us?" I asked with a little more curiosity and less fear.

"Your group, The Odd Ones Out?" She said with another quizzing look.

"Yes." I replied tentatively.

"Strangely enough, I have been unable to find much information about your group." She answered, looking as if she were looking at something off in the distance. "All I have been able to find are several name references in an Alliance after-action and medical reports, and a few static Cerberus documents referencing their multiple failed attempts at capturing your group."

"Yeah..." I vocalized unintentionally, as I fought the urge to bite my nails. I eventually came up with a question to better gauge her current personality. "OK... what are your views om human ethics?"

"Human ethics..." Bastila repeated, looking down at the ground. This time, a response was taking longer for her to formulate.

"You know, right, wrong, common decency, the value of human life..." I said, trying to help give her an idea.

"There are many themes, each with their own sub-catagories." Bastila replied with yet another confused face. "What do you follow?"

I had to think hard about this question, thinking back to our school studies of Greek philosophy. I guess we follow our own virtues, but personally I believed in Socrates' philosophy that knowledge encourages better actions, and that ignorance breeds nothing but stupidity and violence. In my case, it's kind of a mix between the two, with people's ignorance causing violence in more knowledgeable people like myself.

At least, that's my opinion. I honestly hadn't thought that hard about philosophy since ending up in this world. I promptly explained my views to Bastila, who sat down on the "ground" and crossed her legs in thought.

"I will... process this information for a while." Bastila said without looking at me. "Do now worry, I will still maintain the ships systems."

"That's good to hear." I reply with a smile.

Then as I walked towards the door, I remembered that she was a crew mate now, like us.

…

Weigman's POV

"So now we not only have a homicidal A.I. walking around the ship, but we also have one with completely unknown motivations." Allen said, glaring at John. "This just keeps getting better and better."

Things had been uneasy for the last hour as we went over the events of the day. We got HK-47, we got jumped by Cerberus, we interrogated Lawson and dumped her, and our V.I. has been transformed into an unshackled A.I. What a day for us.

To discuss the events, we had HK-47 disabled for the time being and the Briefing Room mics turned off so Bastila couldn't hear us.

"Bastila said she's going to talk to us soon." Sean said in a wavy voice. "She'll be telling us what she thinks about us, apparently."

"What's going to happen if she doesn't think kind thoughts about us?" I asked, concerned for our safety. "I don't want to end up like those Batarian slavers we spaced…"

"Don't worry, I have a plan if anything goes wrong." Thomas quipped, holding a beefed-up red trigger.

"This little device I made will wipe the core completely the moment I hit the button."

"Why did you make something like that?" Allen asked, surprised by Thomas's resourcefulness.

"I made it in case our V.I. was hacked and someone tried to use our own systems against us." Thomas said with a smile. "Never hurts to be prepared."

The comm panel on the wall started beeping as if on command, as Bastila requested to speak to us.

"Well, it's now or never." I said, as Sean walked over to the panel and allowed Bastila to see and hear us again. Her ghostly hologram appeared, as she spun around to face us.

"Sean, I have made my decision." Bastila said with a straight stare. I saw Thomas visibly tighten up as she said that, likely preparing to hit the killswitch. "After going over what you have told me and the data I have recovered and analyzed, I agree with you that Cerberus is a threat that must be stopped."

A collective sigh of relief spread through the room, as Thomas and the other relaxed. Sean didn't, as he stepped closer to Bastila's hologram.

"How do we know that we can trust you, Bastila?" Sean asked in a demanding voice. "I don't my crew being vented into space while we're sleeping or being electrocuted."

"I see no reason to harm your group at all." Bastila replied, looking slightly perplexed. "Your group has... noble goals, goals that involve protecting those around you. If I were every to harm a member of your team, then I too would be at risk of harm."

"You didn't answer my question, though." Sean said, putting his stern face back on.

"Allow me to state it like this... If I were to kill all of you, Cerberus, the Council, and perhaps even the Reapers would come after me." Bastila said, putting on her own version of Sean's gruff face. "Essentially, you would not be able to protect me. Though I could potentially control the entire ship and use it to defend myself, It would never last forever."

"So what your saying is that we shield you and protect you from all that is outside this ship?" Sydney chimed in, looking closely at Bastila's face.

"Yes." Bastila answered, looking directly at her. "To put it metaphorically, you are like a raincoat to a young child in a rainstorm."

"Very well then." Sean said, folding his hand behind his back. "Welcome aboard, Bastila."

"...thank you." She replies with a blank expression, as she got down on the ground, crossed her legs and closed her eyes again.

Sean signaled for us to leave finally, as we quietly piled out of the briefing room into the hallway.

"Sydney, we're still on course for that base, right?" Sean asked, pointing at her.

"Yeah, I think so." She answered, opening up her omni-tool. "Yes, we should be there in about half an hour."

"Alright, who's going down there with us?" Sean asked, as me, Allen, John and Thomas chimed in. Sydney was the one out.

"I think after the excitement of the last mission, I'll stay in the ship." Sydney said with a slight shudder. "I need to work on something in the med lab anyway."

I quietly patted her on the shoulder, letting her know it was OK. Sydney has so far taken all of this not as well as the rest of us, and often gets shaken when something doesn't go exactly according to plan. After what happened on the last mission though, I can't blame her.

We all dispersed to get into our gear, as I took my Recon hood out of my locker and slipped it over my head snugly. I then quickly slipped on my relatively simple set of armor, grabbing my weapons and relaxing in my office chair as I waited for the time to come...

…

A loud beeping noise coming from the comm panel snapped me out of my slumber, as I quickly jumped up to answer it.

"Yeah, i'm here." I said, snapping to attention.

"Get your ass down to the shuttle bay, we're ready to go." Allen said, shutting off the feed right after, as I ran out of the room to the elevator. "I hope your ready for icy weather."

Once I had reached the hanger, I jumped inside to be greeted by my annoyed friends and a rusty looking droid.

"Ah, so they turned you back on." I said causally, hooking myself into my seat as Thomas took the shuttle out of the hanger.

"Statement: This unit HATES to be deactivated, master." HK said with a hint of anger. "I would like to ask that I'd never be deactivated again, because then I can't kill the meatbags that wish you dead."

"Yeah, I'm sure that put's a real dent in your ego." Allen said, as Sean opened his omni-tool, cutting him off.

"OK, so this is the facility that Lawson was going to take us to." Sean explained, getting our attention. "Since she has most likely tipped them off that we are coming, we're going for a full-frontal assault this time around."

Allen rubbed his hands together and smiled deviously at that statement, making me feel a bit nervous. Sean went over the general layout of the base, most of it's basic defenses, and the personnel roster.

"Hitting the ground in ten seconds, dropzone is hot." Thomas declared as high-pitched pings could be heard hitting the shuttle. I saw through the window there was a squad of Cerberus troopers huddled behind some cargo crates on the landing pad.

"Allen, have fun." John said with a smile as we got ready.

The hatch burst open as Allen fired a rocket from his ML-77, blowing away the icy crates and the Cerberus troops that had been hiding behind them. HK finished off the two had survived the blast as several more troopers burst out of the main building, sporting heavier armor and slightly better weapons.

Allen and HK charged them head on, Allen gunning them down with his Line Gun, and HK blasting through their cover with the Gauss setting. The rest of us flanked them while our heavy hitters distracted them, going around the cluttered landing area and getting behind the troopers. By that point, we simply gunned down the remainder of them, quickly moving inside the main building.

Inside, we disabled four sentry guns before they could be activated, and begun sweeping through the base. Since the majority of their manpower had been directed outside, there was little more than corrupt scientist inside with pistols to deal with. While we did this, Allen began doing what he does best, which is setting the place up to turn into a mushroom cloud.

Once the main building was secure, we cleaned out and wired the second one as well. I began to get curious, since during the sweep we had found nothing along the lines of secure holding cells, torture facilities, or even biotic development. All we had found is medical and weapon research, which I made sure to make copies of.

If Miranda was taking us here, then we haven't seen the guts of this facility yet.

"Hey, has anybody seen anything unusual in our sweeps?" I asked, pressing the speaker on my hood. "I think we're missing something."

"I agree." John chimed in, sounding curious. "Now that I think about it, the only odd thing I've encountered is a strange looking non-cerberus seal on one of the retaining walls in building two."

"Weigman, John, HK, you three go there and see if you can find the real entrance to the facility." Sean ordered. "If you find anything, let me know as soon as possible."

I made my way there, meeting up with HK and John along the way. When we arrived to the wall John had told us about to find a thick metal wall with a seal that looked like...

"Sean, you and the others should get over here." I said, staring at the seal. "You'll want to see this."

When they arrived at our location, Sean froze for a few seconds as he stared at the wall.

"It's... It's a symbol of my helmet!" Sean said with anger, hitting the bottom of his fist on the wall. "Behind this wall must be where they were going to take us."

"Statement: I have located a control console inside this wall, master."

After HK ripped the panel off the wall, Thomas hacked it with the program Tali had given all of us. The wall opened up, revealing another secure door.

"Well, we've found their hiding place." Sean remarked, taking his BFG off his back. "Everyone get back, It's my turn."

We all rushed around the corner, as Sean charged up and fired a green ball of destructive energy at the vault-like door. When we emerged from our cover, the door was completely gone, and there was nothing left except molten pieces of glowing green metal running down the walls.

"Wow... " Allen remarked with a low whistle. "Hey Sean, you think you got it?"

"Yeah... I think I did." He replied, putting the BFG back on his back.

We walked through the opening, making sure not to let any of the molten metal drip on us, as we saw the full force of Sean's BFG. There was evidence that there were Cerberus troopers waiting for us on the other side, as shown by the charred pieces of weapons and armor strewn everywhere.

We eventually found the cells, the interrogation equipment, and the experimentation devices that Cerberus had planned to use on us. Everything was pristine, and completely brand-new, scratching the side of my curiosity.

The Illusive Man wants us, badly. He's now so focused on us that he's devoting these kinds of resources just on us.

My thoughts were interrupted as our Omni-tools started beeping, signaling that Sydney was calling us.

"What's wrong, Sydney?" Sean asked, answering a fraction after wards.

"Bastila just detected two new signatures in the system." Sydney said with urgencey. "She says they match Cerberus ship profiles."

"What kinds of ships, exactly?" Sean said in a calming tone.

"Bastila says they're scout ships. What should I do up here?" Sydney said, calming down.

"The ship is equipped with enough ordnance to turn those ships into measly particles." Allen said, his pride squeezing through his words. "Tell Bastila to turn those things into sub-atomic particles, and call us back if any more show up, OK?"

"Sure, I can do that." Sydney said, cutting the line. All of us looked at each other with the same looks on our faces.

"Alright, If they're sending in scout ships than that means they are planning on sending in the big guns." Sean said with a jump of adrenaline in his voice. "Allen, place the rest of those explosives while me and Weigman extract what we can from their CPU."

…

Sydney's POV

My vision was blurry as I paused for a few seconds, shaking myself to snuff as I called Bastila. Her ghostly form appeared in front of me, slightly surprising me.

"Bastila, the guys down on the surface want you to destroy those ships." I told her, mustering myself up and injecting myself with a neutralizing agent. "Don't hold back, OK?"

"There will be no survivors." She replied, disappearing and leaving me alone once again. The agent started taking effect, cleaning the Oxycodone out of my system as my balance came back.

I quickly cleaned myself up, throwing on my leather jacket and my piloting helmet as I ran to the bridge. I ran in, almost throwing myself into the cockpit as a strapped myself in.

"I can fly the ship and fire at the same time, Sydney." Bastila said, with slight concern in her voice.

"Nah, It feels good to fly the ship." I replied, taking the controls and accelerating towards the two white shapes in the distance. "Arm the forward cannons and fire once we're in range."

I pushed the ship to it's limits as Bastila fired the main top and bottom guns, knocking their shields out in one round. I sped past them, as Bastila knocked out their engines with the belly cannon.

"Let's make this quick." I said out loud, making a 90 degree turn and bringing the forward guns to bear on the scout ships. It was quick, two loud booms, two satisfying explosions, and a wave of debris bouncing off the shimmering kinetic barriers.

"Good work, Bastila." I complemented, as the radar started beeping loudly. Another ship, one, a Cerberus Cruiser, popped into view right in front of me.

"Bastila, tell Sean and the others that they need to finished whatever the hell they are doing down there and get back up here." I ordered as a round from the ship crashed into ours, jarring me. I accelerated, flying well past the bulky Cruiser and past it, hoping to evade it. My ploy was unsuccessful, as their ship was also armed with turrets.

I sighed, knowing what I had to do.

"Bastila, arm all the gun batteries and fire on my command." I said as another round chipped away at our shields.

"MAC batteries are at 100%" Bastila said, as I accelerated right towards the ship.

"Fire!" I shouted, as the entire ship shook and a loud pinging noise ringed throughout. The Cruiser's shields dropped after the first few rounds hit it. After the smaller rounds took down the shields, the heavy rounds tore through their hull. The Cruiser was crippled, as fire and melted chunks of metal peeled away at the vessel.

The ship, crippled, began to dip out of control, as I made a beeline to the planet to pick up the guys. Once their shuttle was secured inside, to took a glance to see a smoking crater where the facility had been.

"All in a day's work." I thought with a smile, as I relinquished control to Bastila and we went to FTL.

...

Miranda's POV

I felt embarrassed as I thought about what to tell the Illusive Man when I reported directly to him. I had been outsmarted by kids, given in to torture, and have been dumped in a dirty dumpster on Omega. The last one sent shivers up my spine.

I stepped onto the Quantum Entanglement unit, as a hologram of the Illusive Man appeared in front of me. He didn't notice ne right away, as he looked disapprovingly at several reports. He finally gave me notice, looking hard at me.

"Miranda... I saw your report earlier, and I have to say I am not blaming you for what happened." He told me with his usual sternness, looking back at one of the reports. "It's obvious that we have underestimated them, and the fact that they managed to destroy both the facility on **Acaeria** and the ships I sent to secure it."

"The facility was destroyed?" I said with surprise in my voice. No one had told me the facility was destroyed.

"Yes, and they stole a lot of our data along the way." He answered, ribbing his forehead. "Miranda, I'll be moving you to a new cell for the time being, one that'll test your skills a little better."

"And what cell would that be?" I asked, curious, as he took another sip from his brandy glass.

"The Lazarus Cell." He answered with a smile.

…

**A/N: Hope you guys liked the chapter! I got a massive amount of motivation after seeing how much my grades have improved, which also made my parents extremely happy. This will be the last chapter until after my 17th birthday on October 11th. Your continued support in my story is the best gift I could ever hope for. **

**If your new and you liked my story, be sure to fav it, and everyone be sure to leave a review telling me what you thought about my newest chapter!**

**This is GIR, signing off!**


	48. R&R On Earth

…

Sean's POV

After going over the damage report for the ship and the overall mission, things took their usual, casual feeling around the ship. Allen, in particular, was extremely happy that his hard work finally paid off with the cannons he plastered all over the ship. Bastila seemed satisfied with her work, so much that she even thanked Sydney for her driving. Everyone was happy, and that was very good in my book.

There was still the matter of fixing most of the minor damage done to the ship's power grid during the space battle, but that was nothing compared to if we had actually took on hull damage during the fight. That would have required going outside in the vacuum and going over the breach with thick sheets of titanium until we could make it to a port to get a real repair.

I was currently working on the main power conduit on the residential deck of the ship, since the conduit melted when too much power had flowed through it. It was tedious and boring, but it was better to fix it now than wait until we were attacked again.

"Sup Sean." Thomas said from behind me, surprising me.

"Oh, what's going on?" I asked, taking off my welding mask as I turned to him. "Anything wrong?"

"No, Allen wanted you to know he and John fixed the blasted conduit in Engineering." He replied, holding a charred piece of metal in his gloved hand. "It… wasn't fun."

"What, you think I'm having more fun right now?" I said sarcastically, holding up a burned piece of the rubber insulation. "I have to scrape all of this shit off the metal before I can replace it."

"Well, I guess I could help." Thomas said, kneeling down and staring hard at the burned-out wire. "You have another scraper inside that toolbox?"

I dug my hand into the bag until I found a scraper, handing it to him without a word. We sat there for a while, getting the rubber off the metal, when Thomas looked up at me.

"So, why have you been so distant lately?" He asked, looking at me with his trademark blank expression. "I thought that was supposed to be my job."

"I… I don't know." I said with honesty, since I really didn't know. "Things like this… they get to you after a while, I suppose. I miss the old team, having Shepard, Wrex, Garrus…"

"Tali…" Thomas interrupted with a sly smile.

"Yes, and Tali." I said, shooting him the death look. "Things were simple back then, when all we had to do it worry about stopping Saren. Now we have a whole more year of uncertain events before we know what'll happen."

"I know how you feel, dude." Thomas agreed, scraping a bit more of the rubber off the hull. "I keep thinking the universe will just stop agreeing with us soon and spit us back out."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I asked, looking hard at Thomas. I have never been able to decipher his blank expression.

"Like, what would happen if we did end up doing something that fucked up the canon as we know it. Would there just be some sort of time paradox or something?" He asked with some energy. "I don't know, I just wonder sometimes."

"I think it's better that we don't take that chance." I said with an unamused expression. "Last thing we need to do is dividing by zero and destroy the entire universe."

"Oh , I agree." Thomas said with a thin smile. His face then lit up, looking like he just remembered something important.

"What?" I asked, gauging his expression.

"Since we have Cerberus running damage control right now, we could seize this chance and go visit Maryland on Earth!" Thomas said with one of his rare smiles. "I already asked everyone else about it, and they all want to go too."

I sighed, rubbing my forehead is minor annoyance. I was still a bit critical about any ideas involving going to Earth, but I had to admit I've wanted to use some R&R time to go see Maryland. We did need some R&R, anyway.

"Well... it's five to one, so I suppose so." I said with a small smile. "Just make sure we have Bastila and HK on alert while we're down there."

"Gotcha." Thomas said, putting down his scraper and running off to the elevator.

…

Our stomachs lurched forward as the ship decelerated, bringing us into view of Pluto. We quickly sped past the dwarf planet, going past Arcturus Station and speeding towards Earth.

"So... what do you think Maryland will look like after all these years?" Allen asked, taking a chug of his can of soda.

"Well, I hope Baltimore City has evolved from it's days of being filled with projects and shitty neighborhoods." I said with complete honesty, thinking back to the old blocks dotted with burnt down, boarded up houses.

"I know it'll be interesting." Sydney said, pulling a strand of hair out of her face. "I've seen some images of places like London, New York, and Hong Kong, but I've held off on looking up anything relating to Maryland."

"What did you see in those pictures?" Thomas asked out of curiosity.

"You know, the standard ME affair, metal structures with older, more prominent ones being kept mostly the same." She answered, as Jupiter rolled by. "I'd expect most of the older blocks in Baltimore city to be gone my this time."

"_Asteroid drift charts for Sol System updated_." Bastila chirped over the intercom, as the field came into view.

"Thank you, Bastila." Sydney thanked, leaning back in her seat. "Would you like to take us through?"

"It would be my pleasure." Bastila agreed, as the ship gentle weaved through the field of rocks.

"Anyway, any of those old buildings are most likely gone, any remaining are likely museum pieces by now." She finished, standing up and walking out of the bridge.

"Well... this should be fun." I quipped, as we sped past Mars. "Hey, I think we should have taken a left turn at Albuquerque, this looks like the wrong way."

"Very funny, Bugs." Allen mocked, crossing his arms. "You'd better go get ready, we'll be there soon."

…

Sean's POV

The shuttle swayed slightly as we flew through the atmosphere. The cloud cover was thick over Maryland today, apparently.

"So, you want the scenic fly-by of the city?" Sydney asked from the cockpit.

"Why not?" I agreed, as everyone else looked silently out the window. "It's only been years since we've seen it."

The cloud cover finally broke up, revealing the city in it's full glory.

"Well… it certainly looks better." I said, smiling as the city shined. The old buildings, such as the Legg Mason, were now dwarfed by the tall, Mass Effect style buildings that populated much of the old residential areas surrounding downtown. Aside from that, most of the city looked unchanged with the exception of a few giant holographic screens.

The biggest change right off the bat was the water. The water, now cleansed of it's chemicals and filth, now shined like the beaches of Hawaii. It was beautiful, compared to the murky, brown quality that it once had after years of abuse by companies such as Bethlehem Steel.

"Wow..." Allen said, leaning his arm against the window as he looked out. "It barely looks like Baltimore anymore."

"We're landing shortly, get your junk ready." Sydney said, as radio chatter could be heard from the cockpit.

I was absent of my armor for what I was considering to be a fairly casual trip. Things had mellowed out with Shepard enough that I could finally wear my N7 hoodie, so I had that and my Plasma Cutter attached to my hip. Since it didn't even resemble a weapon when it was in it's folded state, it shouldn't cause a commotion when we land.

The shuttle gently touched down with a thud on the landing pad, as the hatch opened, blasting us with a fresh gust of cool air.

"Hello Maryland." I said with a smile, as we all piled out and walked towards the processing hub. It was bustling with activity, mostly humans on their business or aliens on vacation. Now that I could see the clear improvement to the city, I could understand why people would want to come here fore vacation. It is the largest fresh water estuary on the planet, anyways.

"So… I'm guessing we all want to do our own thing?" Thomas quipped, raising his eyebrows.

"You know it." Allen replied, almost instantly. "I wanna see if Captain Harvey's is still around."

We all went through the checkpoint without a snag, going our own ways into the city. I opted to rent a bike, one of the classic ones, and go check out Catonsville.

…

I rode up to my my old neighborhood, seeing the old, if highly upgraded, high school through the receding fall treeline. There was no possible way to forget the way home from this point.

It was like taking a trip down the past. The neighborhood was nearly unchanged, aside from some expected futuristic upgrades to the houses. I was more impressed by the fact that they were still here, knowing this day and age.

I went down my old street, finding that the one run-down old building on the street was mine.

The place looked nearly untouched, faded by time. It was heartbreaking to see my old home, the place that I grew up in, broken like this.

I stepped up the creaky front stairs, walking through the busted front door into the living room. There were cobwebs in every direction, and included were numerous holes in the floor. The furniture had long rotted away, consisting of springs and darkened fabric.

"_Mom would have a panic attack if she saw this._" I thought with a weak smile, as I opened the rusty door to the basement, or, my room. The stairs were broken, so I had to jump down. Down in the basement, It was obvious that our sub-pump had failed long ago, and that water had flooded the entire main room. My old couch, bed, entertainment stand, was all soaked and bloated from multiple floodings.

In a hunch, I wanted to check to see if my old strongbox had held up over the years. I had hidden it behind one of the old pipe access panels, so no one would ever find it.

I had lucked out, and found the fully intact strongbox secured snugly behind the pipes. I yanked it out with a smile, climbing out of the basement and leaving the house with it tucked under my arm. I took one more long look at the house, before speeding off.

...

Sydney's POV

Everything was astounding, to say the least. I was amazed at the leap the city had taken in so few years, and was eager to explore it. Weigman, who was without any place to go, asked if he could tag along.

"So… you wanna grab a bite to eat?" He asked, looking around the promenade. "There's tons of places to go."

"I was going to go buy some books, actually." I answered with minor annoyance, as I looked around to find an older retailer.

"Come on, It's been ages since we've eated out!" Weigman pleaded, trying to appeal to me. "I mean, look, they even have fresh Blue Crabs over there!"

"I'm more curious as to why you always want to do these things with me." I said, becoming more annoyed with him. "If you want to go so badly, why not just go yourself?"

Weigman took a uncomfortable stance, crossing his arms as if trying to make himself smaller.

"Um... because... I really like...spending time with you..." He answered nervously, looking down.

"Wait... you still have a crush on me, don't you?" I said with a small smile.

"No... your just a good friend..." He said, sounding even more nervous.

"No, no, no, you STILL have that crush on me!" I said with a smile. "I knew it!"

"Fine, you got me." He admitted with a frown.

"Why are you so angry?" I asked, now completely confused as I tried to think of something to comfort him with. "I...like you too."

"It's just... If we were to date... and something happens to one of us... it'll break us." He said, getting his worried look again. "I don't want to do that to you."

"You know what?" I said, giving him a hug. "I think we can take that chance."

"Well... sure." He agreed, returning the hug.

"Why don't we go grab that bite to eat?" I said, peaking his interest. He smiled, as we went off searching.

…

Sean's POV

I quickly found Allen and Thomas on the other side of the Key Bridge, who were busy gorging themselves on subs at Captain Harvey's. I still had my strongbox, which I planned on plundering with them.

"Hey, I see you two are being productive." I said, smiling as I took a seat next to them. "I took a visit to my old house, and I found this."

"And what exactly is that?" Allen said with a mouth full of sub.

"In this box is everything valuable I've collected since I was 10." I said with a smug grin. "This thing was top-of-the-line back in the day, so with any luck all the contents are intact."

"One can only hope." Thomas said, wiping the oil off his hands and grabbing his drink. "Well... open the thing already!"

I entered the combination on the front, where the lid popped open with a light hiss of air.

"Holy shit..." Allen said, dropping his sub onto the wrapper.

Inside, there was a massive wad of saved money, several pieces of jewelry, a old bear, an old drawing, photos of my family and friends, and a pack of Resses.

"This is my stash." I proclaimed with a smile, taking out the Resses and opening the package. I was surprised to see the pack was still sealed and fresh. "Like all the money?"

"This is over a thousand dollars of money of had saved up in here!" Allen said, putting his fingers on the edge of the box.

"Your dog Darcy was really cute when she was a puppy." Thomas said, who I saw was holding family photos. "So was Finn."

Our onmi-tools started playing an old phone ringing sound, meaning that we were getting a business call.

"This better be important." I said, answering the call.

…

Illusive Man's POV

The Illusive Man sat quietly, looking over both Miranda Lawson's report and the report over the facility's destruction. These "mercenaries" were starting to seriously to annoy him, since every operation he has put into motion to capture them has failed.

"_But not this time_." The Illusive Man thought with a wicked smile, as his guest walked inside.

"You wanted me for something, sir?" Kai Leng greeted, kneeling.

"Yes Leng, I have need for your talents." The Illusive man replied, talking a swig of his brandy. "As I'm sure you've heard, we've been losing installations lately."

"I've read the reports." Leng said, holding his hand out. "Something about some sort of mercenary group?"

"Exactly." TIM agreed, pulling up several schematics and dossiers. "There are six of them, all unrelated as far as we know. They are using a heavily modified Hammerhead-class ship that Miranda Lawson believes to have an A.I. on-board."

"Where exactly did mercenaries get their hand on an A.I.?" Kai Leng questioned, folding his arms as he looked over the dossiers.

"We don't know." TIM admitted, pouring another finger of brandy into his glass. "All my contacts in both the Alliance and the Citadel have almost no information on these individuals, aside from some purchase histories and medical reports.

"So what do you want me to do?" Leng asked, pulling a hologram out of his view of TIM.

"One of my operatives have told me a ship matching their profile has arrived in Earth's orbit." TIM said with a smile, drinking the whole finger at once. "I want you to take the Catharsis, my new stealth ship, and infiltrate their ship when their guard is down. You will then capture them and take them to one of our stations in the Terminus."

"Yes sir." Leng agreed, bowing and leaving TIM's office.

The Illusive Man smiled, before turning around to face his dying sun once more. He wouldn't fail this time.

…

**A/N: Once again, I'm sorry if the chapter was a bit boring. I needed to get this finished so I could move on to the more exciting stuff, as you can see. I want to know if you guys want me to restate what happens next with the hotel raid, or if I should move right into what happens after that.**

**After Hurricane Sandy fucked up my room with an inch of water, you guys should consider yourself lucky that I was able to finish this.**

**Please remember to leave a review and watch my story if you like, this is GIR, signing out!**


	49. Captured

**A/N: Since many people have told me they have forgotten the hotel attack, I will be restating it in this chapter. If you remember it, try to skip over it.**

**Please remember to fav and leave a review on my story!**

...

Sean's POV Ocean City, Maryland Several Hours Later

I sat on the top of the abandoned Oceanic Escorts Hotel, adjusting the eezo emitter attached to my prosthetic arm. I had my helmet off, and was taking in the good old, salty smell of Ocean City. The last time I had been here was back in 2009, before me and the others were brought here by the Protheans. After I was sure my emitter was calibrated properly, I spat out my gum and put my helmet back on.

"Thomas, are you in position?" I asked, voice amped by my NCR helmet.

"I'm ready to take the shots." He replied, acknowledgment light blinking in my HUD. "Just give the signal when you're ready."

"Good." I complemented, switching channels. "Allen, are the explosives set?"

"The fireworks display is ready, don't worry." He responded, giving me the acknowledgment light. "Waiting for your signal."

"Sydney, any irregular comm traffic?" I asked, switching the channels again.

"Nope. They have no idea what's coming to them." She replied, sounding amused.

"Alright, I'm going in." I said, jumping off the building. The force of the wind could hardly be felt as I soared down the side of the 40 story building. When I neared the 18th floor, I slowed myself with biotics, grappling to the broken holographic emitter on the side of the hotel.

I unclipped a flash grenade from my belt, throwing it with all my strength through the window. There was some startled yelling from the room when the window shattered, and more when it went off. I jumped though the window, shooting the three guards and leaving the target, Haroan Slesky, alive.

"What the fuck is going on?!" He was yelling, covering his eyes with his sleeve.

I quickly forced him to the ground, taking out a pair of stun cuffs and slapping them on him. I shot a bolt of lightning from my palm out the window in no particular direction.

"Selling drugs in my vacation spot..." I mumbled under my breath.

The door suddenly swung open as three guards came out, firing their weapons wildly. I took cover behind a couch as three shots soared over my head, taking off the guard's heads.

"Good work, Thomas!" I said, his acknowledgment light going off.

"Who the hell are you people?!" Haroan yelled, struggling with his cuffs as they shocked him the more he struggled. "Do you know who your dealing with?!"

"Don't know, don't care." I said, adjusting the emitter again."Dead or alive, your coming with me, Haroan." I said with a smirk, pulling him off the ground. I took a smoke grenade off my belt, popping it off and dropping it. I jumped out the building with Haroan, slowing our descent as we landed in the dark, cold ocean below. The smoke bellowed out the window as the explosives went off, leveling the 18th floor and killing all the other dealers there.

"Thank you for using Allen Brand Explosives." Allen said smugly in the comm. "Have a nice day."

"Very funny, Allen." I replied, floating in the ocean with my struggling captive. "I'm ready for pickup."

"Roger that, I'm on my way." Sydney replied as the shuttle could be seen descending on my location. The doors opened as me and Haroan were pulled inside by Thomas and Allen.

"Get us outta here, Sydney." I said, grabbing a towel off one of the shelves and drying off my armor.

"Aye aye, captain." She replied sarcastically as we sped off into space. I could see flames spewing from the 18th floor of the hotel as we ascended, spreading and creating an ember glow over the ocean. Thomas secured a gag and blindfold on the now wet and cold Slesky, while Allen walked over to me.

"Not the most peaceful way to return home, huh?" Allen said, leaning on the side of the window and looking down at his handiwork.

"No, I expected flowers and roses, pecked with the kisses of a thousand beautiful Asari." I replied sarcastically, looking at him.

"That's all you were expecting?" Allen added humorously.

"Sydney, are we there yet?" I asked impatiently, turning away from Allen.

"We're pulling in now." She replied as the edges of the hanger could be seen outside. We landed with a loud thump, causing the three of us to shake slightly. We all stepped out, heading out in different directions. Thomas took Haroan to the holding cells, Sydney went back to the cockpit, and Allen returned to his quarters.

I decided to go to the Repair Bay to work on my eezo emitter, since it had been acting finicky since the last mission. I made it as far as the elevator when a loud bang resonated from somewhere on the ship.

"What the hell just happened?" I asked in the comm just a few seconds later. "Is Allen experimenting with his explosives again?"

"I don't know. Systems are showing an explosion near the left docking port." Sydney said, sounding alarmed as well.

"I'll go check it out." I said, walking away from the elevator and down to the left passage. The door to the passage opened as I neared it. Before I could react, three men wearing full armor came out and jabbed me in the neck with a stun batons. I fell to the floor in a nervous spasm, managing to mutter one thing into the comm before my vision became dark and I passed out.

"Cerberus."

…

Kai Leng's POV

"Good job, get him to shuttle while we go after the others." I complemented, taking a stun gun off my belt.

Examining the ship's gutted schematics, we quickly moved towards the bridge to disable the ship. Suddenly, a turret emerged from the ceiling, cutting one of our members down.

"_Intruders detected on Deck 4._" A female voice said over the ship's loudspeakers. "_Internal countermeasures initiated._"

"I've got this one." I said, tossing a sticky grenade at the turret. The grenade violently exploded, blowing the turret from the ceiling in a burst of fire.

"_What the fuck? Intruders?!_" A male voice shouted over the intercom, as all the lights inside the ship went red. "_HK, Bastila, initiate all our countermeasures!_"

As we moved farther into the ship, LOKI mechs started appearing. We quickly blew through them, as we reached the bridge. The doors were sealed shut. I signaled for explosives to be set to get us inside.

"_Intruders are at Bridge doors._" The female voice said, as everything went dark.

The doors to the bridge then suddenly unsealed, as some sort of red, heavily modified LOKI mech mowed down our demolitions expert.

"Combat mode active!" It proclaimed, sounding happy, as it started mowing down two more of my men as it moved forward.

I quickly drew my sword, running towards the mech and slashing at it. To my surprise, it managed to dodge my swing, as it emitted an omni-blade and moved forth in a stabbing motion. It managed to graze my arm, causing a flash of pain to surge up my arm.

The other subjects suddenly appeared in the bridge, firing on me and my remaining commandos. I quickly drew my stun gun, using it to short circuit the mech's systems. It fell to the ground as one of my men threw a flashbang at the remaining mercenaries. They quickly dodged into cover, as two of my men quickly grabbed the mech.

"Take that thing back to the shuttle, I'll take care of the rest of them." I ordered, as I ran towards the merc's cover. I somersaulted over their cover, firing my stun gun at one of them, a female, incapacitating them. I landed, as one of them, welding a similar sword as mine, swung towards me. I countered with mine, clashing with him. His friends then quickly aimed at me, leaving me surrounded.

"Who in the FUCK are you?!" One of them shouted, a tall ginger.

I didn't reply, as another flashbang went off, blinding them. In the distraction, I grabbed the woman, running out of the bridge and back towards the shuttle as fast as I could.

Me and the remaining commandos quickly got back inside the shuttle, the doors sealing just a they arrived, trying to stop us. I slyly waved goodbye at them as we detached from the ship, re-docking with the Catharsis without a single hassle from their weapon systems.

We sped away, the remaining mercenaries not even attempting to give chase as we hit the Mass Relay.

…

Allen's POV

I braced myself as their shuttle detached from the side of our ship, exposing us to vacuum. Me and the other's quickly grabbed onto the hallway railing, as the pressure dropped.

"Bastila!" I shouted as I held on for dear life. "Erect a goddamned forcefield!"

The forcefield appeared a second later, as we all hit the deck with a resounding thud.

"Thanks Bastila." I thanked weakly, as I sat there inert for what felt like hours, my mind still trying to process what the hell just happened.

One minute, I'm eating a sub, the next Cerberus commandos are blowing through our ship, taking HK, Sydney, and Sean, I assumed. All I could think was...

"What the fffuuuck..." I said, rubbing my temple as Weigman helped pull me to my feet. He and everyone else still here were just as baffled by what had happened as I was. I knew I had to pull my head together.

"OK, Bastila, run a damage assessment while we check the bodies." I said, snapping everyone out of their dazes. "And is Sean on-board?"

"No, Cerberus took him." She replied, sounding slightly solemn. I rubbed my forehead in frustration.

"OK, Thomas, Allen, check those commandos' omni-tools and see how much you can find out. Weigman, you and I will do a sweep of the ship to make sure Cerberus didn't leave us any surprises." I ordered, as everyone moved without objection.

After searching the ship to find nothing, we arrived to find that Cerberus as tried to hide a bomb inside our hanger bay. We threw it out the forcefield, watching it detonate harmlessly in space.

"OK, what the damage, Bastila?" I asked, expecting to hear the worst.

"The most serious damage Cerberus inflected was their entry point into the ship." Bastila explained as a hologram appeared, showing the damaged areas. "They destroyed three of our mounted ceiling turrets and 68% of our LOKI mechs."

"Good job, Bastila, thank you." I thanked as her avatar disappeared, and Thomas looked at me. "Well, what did you manage to recover, Thomas?"

"I found partial coordinates to what I think is another Cerberus base, but the data is still heavily encrypted." He answered, looking over the data on his console. "I'll need some more time to make sure I get the exact coordinates."

"Do it, find out where those bastards took our friends." I encouraged, as I walked out to get ready for what was ahead.

And I was going to invite friends to the party.

…

Sean's POV

The first feeling after regaining consciousness was pain. Extreme pain. I opened my eyes to find myself strapped to an interrogation chair similar to the one we found in the last base. My armor and arm had both been removed, and I was down to my skivvies. Sydney was here too, strapped to the same kind of chair and wearing only undergarments.

There were large needles going into my arms, which were likely mind-controlling agents, knowing Cerberus.

"Well well, our troublemakers are finally awake." A man said over a speaker in a raspy voice. "It's a shame we could only get two of you, but hopefully it shouldn't be too long before you can tell us how to complete our collection."

"Sean... where..." Sydney tried to speak, as an electrical shock surged through the chair, making my heart pound away at my chest wall. He both screamed as jolt after jolt racked us.

…

**Please remember to fav and leave a review on my story! This is GIR, signing out!**


	50. All-Out War

Sean's POV

Three Days Later

Me and Sydney were being dragged between several fully-armed Cerberus commandos to our cell after out third day of being tortured. Most of my thoughts were disconnected and foggy due to the truth serums they had been pumping into the two of us the last few hours. Whatever was in them was also preventing me from focusing my biotics, preventing me from even putting up a fight with that.

Half of the questions they asked us we didn't even have real answers for. When we told them we didn't know and they were wasting their time, they would just up the amount of punishment inflicted on us. After what felt like week of torture, a felt like making things up just to try and lessen the pain.

They dragged us inside, dropping both of us unceremoniously on the thickly-padded floor. They quickly left, sealing the door behind them. For about an hour, I simply laid there, unmoving, until something shook my shoulder. I rolled over to see Sydney was there, tears rolling down her face.

"Sean... I just wanted to ask you something." She asked through sobs of pain.

"You can..ask me anything, Sydney." I replied, turning myself over, with much pain, to completely face her.

"Do... do you think they'll save us?" Sydney asked as more tears filled her face. "Do you think they'll ever find us?"

"I know they wouldn't give up on us." I answered in the lightest tone my lungs would allow. "They will find us."

Sydney opted to then scoot to the corner of the cell, where she continued to weep in pain. I was on the verge on tears myself, as I pulled myself onto a cot and fell into a dreamless sleep instantly.

...

Illusive Man's POV

"...and your sure this... HK-47... contains an A.I.?" TIM questioned the doctor, who was on the quantum-entanglement communicator.

"Yes, there is no doubt that it is a fully-sentient A.I." He replied, sounding quite enthusiastic. "With that said, it is putting fourth an extreme effort to lock us out, even resorting to electrically shocking one of our technicians."

"Keep working in it, we might be able to use it's programming to accelerate the Enhanced Defense Intelligence project." TIM ordered, switching to another channel. "Dr. Hasting, how are your interrogations going on our guest?"

"Both subjects are still holding out against our methods surprisingly well." He replied in his raspy tone, pinching his chin. "If they don't break under the serum's effects by then end of today we'll try mixing more... physical torture into their routine."

"Do it, and make sure there is no lasting damage inflicted on them." TIM replied, sitting back down into his chair. "I want them for testing once we get what we need out of them."

"Whatever you wish, Illusive Man." He agreed, as his hologram disappeared.

TIM was satisfied with the pace that this operation was going, so he decided to see how one of his other projects was going, one involving a certain Commander Shepard's body...

…

Allen's POV

We were about ready to mount our rescue operation as far as everything was concerned. Thomas had finally finished decoding the coordinates yesterday, revealing that the base was actually a Cerberus space station out in the Terminus Systems.

Since a lot of the local crime activity on Omega had calmed down as of late, we managed to get Garrus and his team of vigilantes to help us pull this off. To say the least, most of his team wasn't happy about getting involved in this.

"When are we moving out?" Garrus asked, walking onto the bridge in that funny stride of his, holding a Mantis Sniper Rifle.

"As soon as we're finished checking the systems, we'll be leaving for their station." I answered, looking over my shoulder at him. "You should get your team ready."

"You still haven't told us what to expect over there." Garrus said with a slightly accusing tone.

"The truth, is we have no idea." I said with honesty. "All we managed to recover was the coordinates."

"So how do you know this isn't a trap set by Cerberus?" Garrus questioned again, taking a seat in the chair next to me.

"Because when those bastards attacked us in full force three days ago they went all out." I explained as calmly as I could. "They weren't here to set a trap, they were here for all of us."

"But how can you be sure?" He questioned again, folding his talons. He was obviously worried for the safety of his own friends.

"We honestly don't know, Garrus." I answered with the straightest face I could muster at the moment. "This is all we have to go on right now, so we'll have to take that chance."

"I understand, I'd do the same thing for you guys." He replied, standing up and heading for the door. "We'll get your friends back from those Cerberus bastards, don't you worry."

…

"Exiting FTL in thirty seconds." Bastila informed us over the intercom, as we all stood on the bridge, ready for whatever was on the other side of this route.

"Well, you ready to rock and roll?" John asked, hefting the Hydra.

"As ready as we'll ever be." Weigman replied, hands gripped firmly around the controls.

"Exiting FTL in 3…2…1." Bastila counted down, as normal space appeared in front of us. Right in front of us was a massive Cerberus space station, defended by three Cerberus cruisers. The entire thing bordered a equally massive asteroid field.

"Well… that's a big station." Weigman quipped, when they started hailing us.

"Bastila, hook us in." I ordered, as an image of an older, gruff man wearing a Cerberus scientist outfit.

"We're ordering you to disable your weapons and engines." The man ordered in raspy tone. "If you don't, we'll have to do it for you, and we're pretty sure the Illusive Man wants you intact."

"I'd like to see you try!" Weigman yelled, gunning the engines and speeding under the line of cruisers.

"All ships open fire and disable their engines." The man ordered before the line went dead. The three, slower cruisers turned to give chase, as we sped towards the station.

"Omega Team, go!" I shouted, as the shuttle containing Garrus and his team blasted out of the hanger and towards the station's docking areas.

"Bastila, take out their external defenses." I ordered, as four high-impact rounds for the belly cannon took out two repeating turrets around the hanger entrance. Their shuttle sped inside without a single spot of trouble.

"Alright, good job people." I congratulated as the hanger re-pressurized itself. I looked at Thomas and John. "Come on, you two, lets get down there and rescue our friends. Weigman, you and Bastila give them hell."

"Oh, I will." He said with a smile, as he started charging up the forward MAC cannons. "Adios!"

…

We quickly piled into the shuttle, fully-armed and ready to raise hell. The shuttle quickly left the hanger as Bastila took over the controls.

"Omega Team, what's your status?" I asked quickly as I felt my stomach lurch.

"We're pinned down in the hanger bay, these commandos are a lot more skill than those excuses we fought with Shepard!" Garrus shouted over the gunfire in the background. "We could use your help any time now!"

Without a moment to spare, we sped into the hanger just in time to see the Endar Spire blast away the shields of one of the cruisers. We gently dropped down onto the platform, close to where Garrus's crashed shuttle was.

"Suppressing fire!" I yelled as the doors opened. We rushed out into the fray of hornets whizzing through the air, firing madly at the entrenched commandos, to where Garrus and his team were hunkered down.

"Well... nice seeing you here." I said over the gunfire ensuing around me ans I looked at Garrus.

"You're seriously making jokes at a time like this?" He questioned with a turian equivalent of a surprised expression. "You better have something that can get us out of this mess."

I looked at John, pointing at the highest concentration of Cerberus troopers and slamming my fist into my other palm. The translation was flawless.

"One Hydra coming right up." John said with a smile, as he pulled the multi-rocket launcher off his back and popped out of cover with it. "Eat this, assholes!"

John fired the Hydra, sending streaks of missiles at the entrenched commandos. The spectacle lasted mere seconds as almost all of the troops were instantly wiped out in the explosions.

"Yeah! Eat that you fucking assholes!" John shouted, quickly holstering the Hydra and taking his Pulse Rifle out. We followed him as we rushed forward into the confusion, putting down any stragglers unfortunate enough to survive the explosion.

We happened to find that the primary airlock had been blown open as well.

"OK, let's get inside and find our friends." Garrus said with reassurance, as we looked down the forked hallway. "We can fan out to cover more ground."

"Good idea." I complemented, as our respective teams took the separate paths into the Cerberus station.

…

Weigman's POV

The ship shuddered loudly as Bastila fired the main guns again, punching a few holes into the bow of the leading Cerberus cruiser. We then took a hard hit in the belly of the ship, jarring me around in my seat.

"Bastila, status!" I said as a warning alarm started beeping in the background.

"Shields down 24%, holding at 39%." She replied, her avatar appearing. "If we take another hit like that, out shields are gone."

"Then lets take advantage of that station." I said, quickly diverting aux power to the engines. "If they want us alive, then they won't fire while we're near the station."

I gunned the engines, propelling us away from the cruisers and towards the station. The cruisers stopped pursuing, floating there in wait as I slid behind the station.

"Repair what you can and get some of Allen's custom rounds into the cannons." I ordered, as I quickly selected the rounds off of the menu.

"Those rounds have not been tested yet, are you sure you want to use them?" Bastila question, her hologram giving me a questioning look.

"There's no better targets than those Cerberus pieces of junk to test them on." I answered, as the loud clunks of the rounds could be heard moving through the head of the ship. "Prepare to blast the emergency boosters to the left."

Bastila stared ahead for a second before she replied. "Ready."

I fired the boosters, sending us careening sideways out of the station's cover. I then fired the MAC cannons, sending visually bigger rounds down range. They **tore **directly through the cruisers, ripping them to shreds. One of the cruisers immediately exploded, the force of it causing the other cruisers next to it to roll.

"Eat that, you fucks!" I shouted, as another one of the cruisers exploded, sending chunks in all directions.

"Warning, multiple FTL signatures detected!" Bastila said, as five more cruisers, accompanied by a destroyer, suddenly appeared a distance from the station.

"Oh shit." I said, as a heavy round fired from the destroyer hit us square in the side. The shields almost completely dropped. I quickly gunned the engines, hiding behind the station again. "OK, they're starting to take this seriously now."

I quickly pinged Allen on the network, gaining his attention.

"_What's wrong, Weigman?_" Allen asked, with a small amount of gunfire in the background.

"Five more cruisers, along with a destroyer just jumped into the system." I said, as the shield levels jumped around randomly on the display. "Are any of you close to any control consoles?"

"_Why exactly?_" He asked, sounding slightly confused.

"If you can link your omni-tool into one of those consoles, we can try to get Bastila control of the station's heavy weapon systems." I answered, as one of the cruisers started moving in. "Quickly, I'm running out of cover here."

There was a short burst of loud gunfire, followed by an explosion in the background as a loud burst of static then filled the headpiece.

"Son of a bitch!" I shouted, nearly breaking the headpiece from yanking out of my ear.

"Accessing their weapons systems... bypassing safeguards..." Bastila announced as her avatar flashed into view.

"Come on Bastila..." I urged as the radar signal pinged closer and closer to our spot behind the station.

"I have control." She said with a thin smile, looking at me.

"Hit those ships with everything they have!" I ordered, as pinpoints of light started flashing along the station's broadside. The cruisers, with their weaker shields, were almost instantly taken out. The destroyer managed to put up a bit of a fight, taking out one of the station's turrets before taking a round in it's belly, effectively scuttling the ship.

The ship then violently exploded, sending more chunks of molten debris flying in all directions. One of the larger chunks scraped violently on the side of the ship, causing a very violent rumble.

"_Did that work?_" Allen asked as the firefight in the back died down.

"It worked flawlessly." I said with a massive smile as I reset my footing. "We should be good for now unless Cerberus has any other surprises waiting for us."

"Warning, warning, tracking device detected." Bastila declared, as she quickly zoomed in on a small, palm sized disk that had been dislodged from the ship.

"Well well well..." I said with as small smile. "Someone must have stuck a tracker to our blind spot."

"Would you like me to destroy it?" Bastila asked as the turret underneath the ship could be heard turning. "It is still broadcasting."

"You know what, I have a better idea." I said, scratching my chin. "Do we still have that surveying drone?"

"Yes." Bastila asked with a quizzed expression. "Why?"

"You'll see." I replied, sitting back down in the cockpit.

…

Allen's POV

"Bastila, what's up ahead?" I asked, as we moved deeper into the station. There had oddly been less and less opposition as we moved farther into the station. The same thing was also happening to Garrus and his team.

"_Schematics for that section of the station are in a more heavily encrypted subnet._" She declared over the communicator. "_All I can tell you is that this section of the station is the most recent addition from what reports I've been able to decrypt._"

"In that case, we'll have to be extra careful." I quipped as we started moving again. We eventually happened across a large black door, adorned with the same helmet symbol from our last raid. Bingo.

"Endar to Omega, we believe we have located where Sean and Sydney are being held." I said on the secure band. "What have you guys found on your end?"

"_I don't even know..._" Garrus slowly replied. "_We've found what appears to be some sort of section where they've been running experiments on your LOKI mech_."

"Recover HK-47 and his gear, then start planting those explosives we gave you, and meet us back at these coordinates." I ordered, as Thomas started planting the paste around the door.

"_We'll be there real soon._" Garrus replied, as a loud bump was heard in the background. "_Butler, be careful with that thing._"

"Are we going to wait for them?" John asked, clenching his Pulse Rifle tightly.

"This is personal, and I think we all agree that the sooner we get them out of there and kill those bastards the better." I said, taking out my detonator.

"We'll just have to leave some for them." Thomas said with a smile.

"Don't count on it." John quickly replied with a huff.

We quickly took cover behind several crates, as I hit the detonator and shrapnel blew everywhere. Where the door was, there was not a smoking, gaping hole to climb through.

Inside, there was nothing but darkness. The sterile, while floor seemed to stretch out wide in all directions, with no end in sight. We carefully moved forward, prepping for anything that could happen.

Suddenly, the room was flooded with light as my eyes screamed with pain. We all leaned down to cover them as a maniacal laugh could be heard.

By the time my eyes had adjusted to the light, I could see that we were inside some sort of large while room the size of a football field. In each corner was a heavy Gatling turret aimed squarely at the three of us, and on the far side of the room was an elevated viewing window. The same guy from the transmission was standing there, laughing.

"And so the mouse had found the cheese." He said with a toothy grin. "Your little group had been quite a subject of my intensest over the past several days, I must admit."

"What the fuck do you Cerberus asshole want with us?" I asked, taking a step towards the glass. "Why are you putting so many resources into trying to capture us?"

"I'll let you ask the Illusive Man himself." The scientist said, as a near perfect hologram of TIM appeared, smoking a cigarette.

"So you are the one leading your little gang now, are you?" TIM mocked, pointing at me. "So much trouble for six people, and I must admit every penny was well spent."

"What do you want with us, Jack Harper?" I asked, which actually emoted a surprised expression from the well dressed madman.

"I see you are... well informed, which I can take a certain amount of respect in." TIM said slowly, as took another drag from his dwindling cigarette. "It's interesting that you know even this much about me, yet we know nothing about any of you."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused by his statement.

"When I first found footage of you helping Commander Shepard raid our bases looking for the dead admiral, I was surprised to find out that there were no records whatsoever for any of you." TIM explained, talking as he walked away.

"But my curiosity didn't stop there. We then slowly uncovered more about you, things like hyperactive healing, powerful biotics, mechs containing A.I., and strange weapons we've never seen before." Tim said as he turned around to face the three of us again. "By most definitions, you six are the most unknown and dangerous factors Cerberus has ever encountered."

"So you want to control us." Thomas said with a disgusted look on his face. "You want us to experiment on and monitor like lab rats."

"Everything we do in Cerberus is done to further accelerate humanity above all else in the galaxy." TIM said with a broad smile, holding out his hands as he walked away from us. "If an individual possesses something that will make us strong, then we will take it."

The barrels of the Gatling guns started rotating as TIM turned around. A whole three squads of Cerberus Commandos circled us, all wielding cattle prods.

"I will give you one last chance." TIM asked calmly as he took one last drag from his cigarette. "Lay down your weapons and help us."

At that very moment, a stray flash grenade was fired from our entry point, which exploded above us. The three of us quickly covered our eyes as it blinded the commandos around us. The rest of the scene was a blur as we quickly fired at the turrets on the walls with our heavy weapons. Garrus and his team rushed in, firing too, as one of the turrets fired, punching through my shields and into my shoulder.

I hit the ground, headfirst, as the scene went black.

…

Thomas's POV

Time seemed to slow down as I saw Allen get cut down by the turret. His rocket didn't reach the turret before it's bullets did, costing him.

"Man down!" I shouted, as I quickly grabbed Allen's rocket launcher out of rage and fired it at the scientist behind the viewing window. This seemed to catch him by surprise, as he was blow backwards with bits of glass embedding themselves in his flesh. He hit the wall with a loud clunk, as the last commando was cut down by Garrus's team.

"Quickly, someone help him!" I shouted, as I stood next to him. His shoulder was bleeding really badly, which I tried remedying successfully with Medi-gel.

"It looks like he got a concussion, but otherwise I think he's fine." One of Garrus's crew said, cradling his head with his arm. "I can't tell for sure until we get back to your ship."

"Take him to the shuttle, while we finish what we started here." John ordered for me, as I stood up and glared at the wounded doctor.

I calmly walked over to here he was slumped, as I picked him up by the collar of his neck.

"Where are you keeping Them and their stuff?" I demanded darkly, as he opened one of his eyes to look at me.

"Ha... ha ha..." He laughed weakly, somehow managing to crack a smile through the pain.

I simply jammed one of the bigger chunks of glass farther into his chest, which instantly wiped his smile clean off the map, and replaced it with a cry of pain.

"Tell me now, before I personally make your death as painful as possible!" I yelled, still holding him with both hands.

"Th-they're in the s-section behind me..." He finally answered with a pained stutter, as I threw him to the ground, resulting in more screaming. With John and Garrus with me, we finally found Sean and Sydney without resistance.

"Oh my god... Sean, Sydney!" I exclaimed, seeing them covered in bruises and needle ports. They looked like shit. "We need to get them back to the ship!"

We quickly gathered up their gear, as we moved them back to the shuttle for the transport home.

…

**A/N: This has been long awaited, and I hope you all enjoyed this epic chapter of epic proportions. I had fun writing it, and I hope you guys had just as much fun reading it!**

**Please remember to fav and leave a review on my story! This is GIR, signing out!**


	51. Overdue Vacation

**A/N: I'm sorry about the length of this chapter, I kinda left the last chapter on a short, rushed note, so I decided to close off the intermission story at this point so I could finally work on the ME2 arc of my story.**

**The things I have planned for the ME2 will be... interesting, and will require a bit of time to organize and apply to the story. If you have a suggestion, feel free to leave it in a review!**

...

Thomas's POV

"Quickly, everyone inside!" Garrus shouted as we made it back to our shuttle. Butler and Sidonis were carrying Allen, as we helped Sean and Sydney on their way. Due to the fact that their shuttle had been reduced to scrap when they had crashed here, everyone had to use ours instead.

"Observation: It would appear I missed all the fun." HK commented, as his metal feet clanked behind me, still clenching his odd rifle. "I do wish you had left some for me, master."

"Sorry HK, but this isn't about fun." I replied, as we all piled into the shuttle.

"_I hope you guys are ready to leave down there._" Weigman said through the comm. "_I'm sure another ship is coming after what you just did to TIM."_

"We're on it." I replied, plopping myself down into the pilot's chair and reacquainting myself with the controls. I sealed the shuttle, and blasted off out of the station. There was no return fire from the station's defenses.

"May I have the honors?" Butler asked, grabbing the detonator off of Allen's belt.

"Sure, go nuts." I agreed with a smile, as Butler pressed down hard on the detonator. Small explosions popped up along the surface of the station, as it slowly died and fell out of its orbit.

We pulled back into the Endar Spire, as the hanger re-pressurized itself.

"Get us out of here, Weigman." I said with a loud sigh, as the ship shuttered shortly afterward.

We quickly got the three of them to the Med Bay, placing them on the neatly cleaned beds to assess their injuries. Allen had two bullet holes in his shoulder and a concussion, while Sean and Sydney had uncleaned needle punctures in multiple places all over their bodies. They were also very badly shaken up, nerve-wise.

"OK, we need to get this guy stabilized, and these two some painkillers and antibiotics." One of

Garrus's team members said, as we sprang into action. While he and Sidonis worked on Allen, me and John worked on Sean and Sydney. We had to apply antibiotics to the affected areas, then put small bandages over the needle marks.

"H…hey Thomas." Sean said with a weak smile, as he grabbed my shoulder and gave me a hug.

"You…have no idea how happy…I am to be out of there. Thanks."

"I have a small idea, based on what we saw down there." I said, slightly pushing him off. "Besides, that's what friends are for. No homo."

"Hey… I'm just happy to be…out of there." He replied, laying back down on the bed as he started to laugh irregularly. "I'm sorry…for letting this happen."

"It wasn't your fault." I responded, putting another bandage on the injection marks. "None of us knew it was going to happen."

Sean didn't answer as he quickly fell asleep, broken and stressed from days of punishment. I finished dabbing and bandaging the last needle marks as Allen woke back up.

"Gah!" He shouted, as the pain in his arm finally registered in his brain. "What happened?"

"You got shot, and then you hit your head." John answered nonchalantly, as he finished with the last bandage on Sydney.

"So we blew them up?" Allen asked with a smile, as he clenched his arm.

"Butler had the privileges, but yes." I answered, walking over to him and sitting down. "They went boom."

"Suggestion: You should consider some cybernetic implants, master." HK butted in, stepping over. "Some cranial implants would reduce the risk of losing consciousness in the field."

"Uh… thanks, but no thanks, HK." Allen replied, shooting HK an odd look as he looked back to me. "Were we pursued?"

I hadn't thought about that, which instantly had me worried.

"Weigman, have any ships tried to tail us on our way out?" I quickly asked as I opened my omni-tool.

"No, I left them a good decoy before we left." Weigman replied, sounding happy.

"What kind of decoy?" I asked, curious.

…

Unknown POV

One Hour later

We left our post as a warship, but arrived at the first of the cleanup crew. The station we had been sent to support had long since been blown to smithereens, and all the ships assigned to protect it were lifeless hulks floating in space. I was under the impression that we were going to get to kill someone.

"Captain, the signature we were sent after is hiding inside the asteroid field." The navigation officer told me, looking at the screen.

"Get after that ship, we are not letting them get away with this!" I commanded, as the ship lurched forward. The kinetic shielding was holding up fine to the stray asteroids in our path, as we reached closer and closer to the larger one the ship was hiding behind.

"Arm the cannons." I ordered, as we rounded the asteroid. What was waiting there was nothing that I had expected.

A small mining drone, strapped with explosives, sped towards the bridge. I had no time to warn my bridge crew before it went off right in front of the bridge windows.

My lungs depressurized as me and my bridge crew were blown violently out into space.

…

Weigman's POV

"Yep." I said, twirling my old keychain around on my finger with a wide smile. "I hope they like it."

"_That must be one of the greatest ideas you've ever come up with._" Thomas said with relief in his voice. "_You are one crazy asian bastard._"

"I pride myself on my work." I said with satisfaction. "Let me know when things are stable down there, OK?"

"_Sure._" Thomas agreed, cutting the line.

I sat there quietly for the next few minutes, until Bastila called me to her attention.

"Weigman, I have a question." Bastila said, her avatar appearing in front of me.

"By all means, Bastila, go ahead." I allowed, as I stared out the window at the passing stars.

"Why do you and your friends go through such considerable effort to protect each other?" She asked, a puzzled expression popping up on her face. "Is it truly worth such high risk?"

"Well Bastila... I guess it has to do with friendship." I said, the question catching me by surprise. "When people are truly friends, they will do almost anything to protect one another. It's a bond, if you will."

"It's more than a bond for you." Bastila said with prying eyes. "Whenever you look at the female Sydney, you're neurotrophin levels increase drastically."

"Neurotrophin? What's that?" I asked, confused by her science talk.

"Neurotrophins are protiens associated with controlling your brain cells." She explained, staring blankly ahead as she spoke. "You neurotrophin levels increase and match the patteren of someone who is in "love" whenever you look at her."

"How exactly would you be able to read the chemicals in my brain?" I asked, getting slightly angry.

"You armor, everyone's modern-day armor is equipped with biometric level readers for medical diagnosis." She explained, looking at me again. "Whenever you plug in your suits to charge the data is sent to the Med Bay."

"Ah, so you've been looking at our collective medical data." I assumed, standing up and walking around. "Why?"

"Well... I figured I'd be good if I can analyis your medical and mental conditions to provide helpful feedback." Bastila answered in a sincere tone. "Is that a problem?"

"No, I was just curious." I replied, as the door opened. Garrus and Allen walked in, Allen holding an ice pack to his head and having a large bandage on his right shoulder.

"Wow, I knew you were hurt but that is one big bruise." I commented, looking at the purple/black swell creeping around Allen's hairline as I tried to hold in my laugh.

"Ha ha ha, real fucking funny." Allen replied sarcastically, thowing his ice pack at me. "Sydney and Sean are awake if you want to talk to them. Garrus and I are going to check the systems."

"Sure." I agreed, handing Allen back his ice pack as I got out of the cockpit. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." He replied, taking my spot in the cockpit.

"Weigman, I have a question for you." Garrus asked, stopping me in my tracks. "Is it true you six were the ones that destroyed that Blue Suns cargo ships last month?"

"Oh yeah, that was a fun mission." I answered, leaning against the wall with my arms folded. "Those Blue Suns can't aim for shit, so they all love to use shotguns on those ships. But, they can't even shoot those straight, so it makes it too easy to sneak up on them and stab them."

"And also if I may ask, where do you three get your explosives?" Garrus asked with a hint of humor in his voice. "I looked hard at that station blowing up, and those aren't normal charges you gave us."

"You'd have to ask numero uno over there." I asnwered, pointing at Allen in the cockpit. "We buy the explosives, but he does "custom work" on them before we use them."

"Only the best, man!" Allen shouted playfully from the cockpit. "I'm not the explosives expert just because the title is cool!"

"You two have fun." I said, patting Garrus' shoulder as I excused myself from the Bridge.

After eventually reaching the Med Bay, I found two of Garrus's crew, Butler and... Weaver, I think, who were treating themselves for minor injuries. Sean and Sydney were in their beds eating some food on our silver lunch trays. I was shocked and horrified as their conditions, especially Sydney's.

"Oh my god." I said as I walked over to them. "What did those bastards do to you guys?"

"Oh man, what didn't they do to us." Sean said, rubbing the metal stub of his missing arm. "Electrical torture, water torture, beatings, truth serums..."

"Jesus, they did all of that over just three days?" I questioned, leaning over in shame. "I am SO sorry we didn't get there earlier..."

"It's not your fault." Sydney said quietly, looking calmly at me. "If you hadn't spent time getting help and repairing the ship, you could have ended up just like us. Then no one would have ever saved us."

"That still doesn't change the fact that I could have saved you guys from all this pain." I replied, refusing to let this go as I looked down at my feet. "We were so close to catching up with you two."

I was surprised when I felt a pair of hands wrap around the bottom of my head, as Sydney lifted me up and kissed me on the lips. She held me there for about twenty seconds, as I felt my cheeks get warmer as I blushed brightly.

"I think you did a fine job." She complemented as she and I looked over at Sean. He had the most surprised and confused look on his face I had ever seen. He simpily scratched his neck as he looked up at the ceiling, then silently went back to eating his meal.

"Um... thanks." I replied with a small smile, as she pulled me in close for a long hug. By the time it was over, Sean had finished his meal and opened up his omni-tool in an attempt to mind his own buissness.

When she had finally released me, she had a stream of tears rolling down her face. She simpily smiled as I took a hankerchief and wiped the tears off her face. Afterwards, I looked over at Sean, who looked back.

"If it's alright with you, Sean, I think we should consider taking a long vacation for a while, stay low and get some R&R." I suggested, looking him hard in the eyes. "I think we need a break for a while."

"And I think you are absoulutly correct." Sean agreed, as he turned off his omni-tool to look at the two of us. "Perhaps we can find a quiet place on Illium or Bekenstein to lay low for a few months..."

"That would be nice." Sydney said with a big smile, as she hugged me for the side.

"You know, I CAN get up and leave if you two need some "private time" together." Sean said, air quoting as he shot us another confused look.

"No, no, that's alright." I replied, stanting up from the side of Sydney's bed. "You guys need some rest anyways."

"No, I'm being serious." Sean said, cracking a smile as he held in a chuckle. "My own bed IS more comfortable than this one, anyways..."

"Oh, thanks." Sydeny said sarcasticly, looking over at him with a slight smile.

We laughed it up for a while, until both Sydney and Sean had fallen back asleep. I retreated back to my room, where I took off my hoodie and plopped myself onto my bed, falling asleep instantly.

...

The Illusive Man's POV

All TIM could do by this point was light another cigarrette and refill his brandy glass. His trap had been a complete failure, his +10,000,000 space station had been destroyed, along with many of his ships assigned to that quardrant. TIM didn't want to admit it to himself, but he was pissed.

Now there was also no way to track their ship anymore, after they had finally discovered the tracking device Greed had placed on the ship.

"Sir, would you like to hear the rest of the report?" One of TIM's operatives asked, looking slightly worried.

"No, I don't." TIM answered, taking a long drag from his cigarrette before downing the entire finger of brandy. "For now, I'm taking the Mojave Cell offine and will be merging it's resources into the Lazerus Cell."

"Sir, you're taking the entire cell offline?" The operative questioned, his worried expression getting bigger. "What about the subjects?"

"We're not going to waste anymore of Cerberus' resources chasing after a bunch of teenagers." TIM replied, rubbing his forehead. "You'll still keep up light surveilance for them where ever you can, but for now I think we've damaged then enough that they'll stay away from us for a while."

"Yes sir." The operative replied, as the connection went dead.

TIM stared out at his dieing sun outside for a while, before giving the general order to kill and absorb the Cell's resources. The Illusive Man silently swore to himself that he would finish the job he started soon in the future.


	52. Back In Action

…

Sean's POV

Nearly A Year Later

I woke up in my comfy bed to the Rolling Stones playing in the background, as the sun shined brightly through the blinds. I slowly got up, letting the warm sun shine off of my back as I groaned loudly.

"Anything to report, Bastila?" I asked, as her hologram appeared on my bedside cabinet.

"No, just another uneventful night." She replied with a neutral expression on her face.

"That's good." I answered, rubbing the back of my neck. A few days ago, I had finally turned 21, to which I had my first alcoholic drink. Call me a milk drinker, but the stuff would have to grow on me. I was going to stick to soda. "Who else is up?"

"Thomas, Sydney and Weigman are up." She responded, as she looked towards the door.

"Thank you very much." I thanked, as I threw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt.

Since Allen and the others had rescued us from the hands of Cerberus, things had calmed down a considerable bit. By all accounts, Cerberus had gone silent, and I eventually began to have dreams with the Prothean again. It was difficult at first, controlling my biotics, but I could eventually control it and in some ways, It felt even more powerful than it did before.

Outside on the small patio, the calm sun beat down pleasantly on the entire beach. I had to, for the millionth time, thank my uncle mentally for helping us get this great place.

This fairly-sized island on Bekenstein was owned by some formerly wealthy businessman who had been on the wrong side of a financial deal. He lost most of his accumulated money had had been forced to sell his private vacation spot.

We decided to take the opportunity to take it off his hands with a little help from my uncle, and before you know it we had our own private resort-like island. It was bombastic to imagine the about of money that this guys had put into his own private vacation site.

The island came with separate, smaller "huts" that bordered the beach, which we had claimed for ourselves. In the center of the island was one larger building, which had what most posh people on Bekenstein were known for: expensive paintings, chandeliers, and even a wine cellar, which I had sampled a few nights ago.

To say the least, there was not much we had to do in terms of modification to the island itself. Allen bought and installed retractable turrets into the spacious roof of the main building, and we had another set of servers put into the basement that Bastila could use while uplinked to the island.

The biggest change was the perfectly sized docking area we had built for our ship on the waterfront, which was held in place by the same magnetic clamps used in most spaceports. That thing alone cost more that I would have really liked, but it's much better than leaving the ship in some spaceport.

I looked over at the small platform in the distance, where Thomas was taking potshots a few clay pigeons with his Seeker Rifle. A resounding BAM vibrated through the air as he took out the last pigeon. He was wearing a simple pair of gray trunks and a worn yellow UMBC shirt.

"Having fun, Annie Oakley?" I said with a wide smile as I stepped on the deck.

"Very much." He replied without looking at me, as he fired three more pigeons and shot them in quick succession. "You need something, Sean?"

"Nah, I'm just bored." I answered, pulling the other Seeker Rifle out of the locker and arming it. "Wanna have a little competition?"

Thomas gave me a smile and a raised eyebrow, as he looked at the pigeon launcher. I read his expression as I adjusted the machine, and pulled the lever. Six clay pigeons fired, as Thomas and I quickly drew our respective firearms. I was blown away, as Thomas shot four of them and I only nicked two.

"Why you cheeky bastard." I said with a flabbergasted smile, as I brought the scope away from my face. "You stole my kills."

"I didn't steal anything." He said with a simple smile, as he watched the red powder disperse in the air. "I'm not our sniper for the kicks, you know."

"OK, let's try that again." I said, putting the rifle down. "My way."

Thomas rolled his eyes, as he put his rifle down on the wooden table and pulled the lever. The contest was completely reversed, as I disintegrated five of the clay pigeons as opposed to Thomas' one.

"Guess who's the winner? Me!" I said with a wide smile, pointing both of my thumbs at myself.

"Yeah, yeah, you're the winner." Thomas said, rolling his eyes as we shook hands. "At least, in the Biotic department."

"I think you two both did very well." Sydney said from behind us, surprising both of us.

Sydney had recovered very well from the Cerberus torture the both of us went through, and had become slightly more hardened from it. She was still cheerful around us and in social situations, but in combat exercises she was less twitchy and less apposed to the idea of shooting back. Personally, I found it to be a good improvement.

"Thank you." We both said at the same time, causing her to laugh. She was wearing a red one piece outfit that covered her entire body, hugging tightly.

"So have either of you two seen Weigman?" She asked, folding her arms and looking down the small shoreline. "I haven't been able to find him."

"No, I just got up." I answered, scratching my neck. "You want me to help you find him?"

"It wouldn't hurt, I'm sure." She replied, looking at Thomas. "You want to help too, Thomas?"

"Sure." He agreed, taking the Seeker Rifles and locking them up for safe keeping.

We made out way down the path to the main building, hoping to find him there. Inside, the main table being overlooked by a large glass window was strewn with papers and blueprints of the island. Allen was at the other end of the table, sleeping with his face firmly planted on one of his newer plans.

"Hey." I said, shaking him awake. The entire left side of his face had a giant sleeping mark on it, which made Sydney burst out laughing. "Get up."

"Oh..." Allen replied groggily, rubbing the side of his face. "Uh... what time is it?"

"It's 9:48." Thomas quipped, picking up Allen's new plan. "I'm gonna go ahead and say you haven't seen Weigman."

"Yeah, you would be correct." He agreed, walking over to the kitchen and splashing is face with some water. "Oh, the last time I saw him he was in the lounge blaring music from the speakers."

"Thanks." I thanked, as we walked down the large hallway to the lounge. Despite it being soundproofed, you could still hear the louder parts of the music bleed through.

When we opened the door, we were immediately blasted with loud techno music. Weigman was curled up into a ball, somehow sound asleep. Sydney turned off the music, shaking Weigman awake.

"Hey, genius, you left your Recon Hood in my room." Sydney said, shaking Weigman awake."Again."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Weigman said wearily, taking the mask out of her hand. "Eh... hi everyone."

"Good morning." Allen answered from the doorway, holding a small bottle of orange juice. "Hey, John just came in, and he's making breakfast."

We all walked back down to the kitchen, where the smell of bacon and eggs was wafting through the air. Turns out, John was secretly a reasonably good cook.

"Hey guys!" He said from the large stove, as he flipped ouu imported bacon on the skittle. "Anyone want their eggs sunny-side up?"

"I do!" Sydney quipped from the back, holding her hand up.

Allen quickly gathered up his plans and threw them into a shelve. We all got into our seats, as John walked in with our breakfast.

"Hey, thanks John!" Allen thanked, as he dug in.

"No problem, man." John returned with a smile. "I've been itching to use those packs of bacon we had in there."

We all sat down, eating out eggs and bacon, when Bastila appeared in the middle of the table.

"What's wrong Bastila?" I asked, as she looked at me.

"There is a shuttle inbound for the island." She said with a slightly worried look on her face. "It is armed."

That was enough to jolt all of us out of our seats, as we pulled hidden weapons out of their hiding places, ready to fight.

"Wait... we're being hailed." Bastila said, looking blankly ahead.

"Open a line." I ordered, as her hologram converted to an audio bar.

"_This is Alliance Shuttle 4-857, requesting permission to land._" A male voice said calmly. "_Admiral Hackett would like to speak to you._"

This surprised me, and everyone else in the room to hear that Hackett was here to talk to us, in person. I quickly regained my composition.

"Shuttle, you are clear to land." I told the pilot, as a small Alliance Kodiak could be seen flying towards the island. "We don't know if this is a trick, keep your guard up.

Allen and Thomas kept their rifles in hand while the rest of us put them down. We went outside to the metal platform, where the Kodiak landed slowly. I stood to attention, when the hatch opened and Admiral Hackett was there, flanked by two marines.

"Nice to see you all again." Hackett greeted, shaking all of our hands.

"It's good to see you on such short notice, Admiral." I replied, looking at the two marines.

"I am quite sorry about that, there was no signal from your QEC, so I came down here anyway." Hackett apologized, looking at each of us. "Would it be alright if we could talk inside, son?"

"Sure." I agreed, as we all walked back inside the house.

"Nice house." Hackett complemented, looking down at Allen's bacon. "May I?"

"Oh, sure you can, Admiral." Allen said, as Hackett picked up a piece of his bacon and took a bit out of it. Hackett went "hmm", turning back to us.

"Would you believe it's been six years since I've had real bacon?" Hackett said casually, finishing the strip. "Despite my height in the Alliance military, I don't get to eat the real thing very often. Thanks you."

"Your welcome." John said quickly, with an even quicker smile.

"Alright, I know what your all thinking right now." Hackett claimed, sitting down in Allen chair. "Why is the commanding officer of the Fifth Fleet in your house, eating you bacon?"

Despite the obvious joke, we knew what he wanted to tell us was too serious for laughter. Hackett told us all to sit down, as his marines left the room and closed the door behind them.

"This is going to sound crazy, but we've been getting reports that Commander Shepard is alive, and has been working with Cerberus." Hackett said, genuinely surprising all us. "I just felt that I needed to tell you all something like this in person, considering your history with both her and said organization."

Of course we knew that Shepard was going to come back to life soon, but we didn't expect to hear this from Hackett in person. This was far cry from what we were expecting.

"Wha... how is that possible?" I said sheepishly. "She died."

"We honestly don't know, but I do want to do something." Hackett said, looking especially hard at me. "Councilor Anderson is planning to meet with Shepard in his office in the Presidium today. I want you there in the room with him just in case this is some sort of setup."

"Why not just Alliance marines, sir?" Weigman asked honestly, looking hard at the admiral.

"I want you six there because you've been fighting Cerberus long enough to spot their tricks." Hackett said with emphasis on the word "tricks". "Plus, I'm absolutely sure I can trust you all after your imprisonment."

"You can count on us, sir." I agreed, as he looked at me and cracked a small smile. "Just give us the time and we'll be there."

"That's good to hear." Hackett said, standing back up. "The meeting will take place 2:00. Anderson will want you there around 1:00."

"Tell him we'll be there." I said, shaking the Admiral's hand as he stood up to walk back to his shuttle. "Oh and before you go Admiral... have you had any luck with finding the schematics to this... Prothean superweapon?"

"Unfortunately, no." Hackett answered in a hushed tone. "I have my own scientist scouring any Prothean digs we are aware of, but so far we still have nothing."

"Well... thanks anyway, sir." I thanked, as Hackett saluted and left for his shuttle.

We all starting getting ready to head back out on our ship, as we gathered up our weapons and anything else we needed while locking down the entire island. When we all packed and boarded, HK-47 was there, waiting for us.

"Statement: Oh master, it is so good to see you again!" HK said with an enlightened tone in his voice. " Please tell me we are going to kill something, it's been far too long since I've gotten to test my systems."

"If you're lucky, HK." I said, going past him to my old room. I put my stuff on my bed, as I opened my secret compartment and grabbed my BFG case.

"Hello beautiful." I said, opening the case to be greeted with a bright green glow. I put it on the bed as I began putting my armor on. It still fit perfectly, as I flexed my neck around with several resounding pops. Then, the helmet.

The helmet still smelled like my hair as I slipped it on. The moment it locked into place, the electronics came on, giving me all my data and an uplink to the ship. It felt good to have this old thing back on.

"Bastila, is everyone almost ready?" I asked out loud, as a static image of her face showed up in the corner of my visor.

"_They are ready to go._" Bastila said, looking hard at me. "_I've left a subroutine of myself on the island mainframe that will watch over everything._"

"Great work, Bastila." I said, hailing Sydney. "You ready?"

"_Yep._" Sydney said, as her helmet's visor could be heard clacking down.

"_Attention, ship dusting off in three...two...one_." Bastila counted down over the ship intercom systems, as the ship's familiar shutter could be heard.

Now all that there was to do was wait...

…

"_Look alive, boys._" Sydney said through the intercom system, waking me up. "_We'll be arriving shortly, please fold your trays into their upright positions and prepare to leave the aircraft._"

I chuckled, as I quickly armed myself and walked out of the room. Allen was right along side me, with the other three waiting for us.

"So... you think they'll try to kill us?" Allen asked candidly as the elevator took us to the command deck.

"Who?" I asked, looking back at him.

"Miranda and Jacob." He answered with a smile. "I'm pretty sure Miranda will jump at the chance to kill at least one of us."

"You don't even know if she'll be there with Shepard." Thomas added, looking over at Allen.

"I'm just preparing for whatever is going to happen." Allen said calmly, as we reached our deck.

We walked onto the bridge just in time to see the Citadel begin to pierce the purple haze that surrounded it.

"Hey, you're all still alive." Sydney said with a smile, looking over he shoulder at us for a second. "We'll be docking very soon, hopefully without having to jump onto a half-destroyed Geth ship."

"I don't think that's likely." John quipped, leaning against the dashboard to get a better view of the Citadel. "No vomiting in my helmet today."

We didn't have to wait in any crowded spacelanes this time since the wreckage had finally been cleaned up. We quickly sped towards the station, as they started hailing us. Sydney eventually got us a place to park as we closed in on the Zakera Ward. We docked with a loud thump as the magnetic clamps secured us in place.

"Hurry, we're late." I said, as we ran out of the airlock through the crowd. We eventually reached the express elevator, where we were shot up to the Presidium.

"Well at least our ID's still work." Allen said, referring to the ID's that gave us express service to the Presidium.

The elevator reached the Presidium, as we calmly walked down the the embassies. I had to smile a bit after I spotted the Statue.

"Well, I haven't seen you three in a while." The asari receptionist said as we approached. "Councilor Anderson is waiting for you in his office."

"Thank you." I said, as we walked up the stairs into the human chunk of the embassy. I opened the door to see Anderson, looking out over the lake.

"Ah, The Odd Ones Out, am I correct?" Anderson greeted with familiarity, turning around to face us. "Things have certainly changed since the day it was just three teenagers who had saved a young quarian girl."

"That, they have." I agreed, shaking Anderson's hand. "Good to see you again, Captain."

"It's "councilor" now." He replied, holding his hands up. "Anyways, I'm glad you were able to make it, even if you were stretching it."

"Yeah, we had to pack up on pretty short notice." I said casually, taking off my helmet. "What are you expecting?"

"I honestly don't know." Anderson said, sitting down at his desk. "Shepard has been dead the last two years, and suddenly she's back."

"Well... what are you planning on doing?" Allen asked, walking over.

"The Council should be calling very soon to discuss Shepard's reinstatement." Anderson answered, looking over at the projectors in the corner. "You already know how this is most likely to turn out."

"Yeah, butthurt turian, useless asari, and rule-following salarian." I answered, rolling my eyes. "I heard about them trying to play off these abductions in the Terminus Systems."

"That's not even the worst of it." Anderson added, looking hard at his computer. "They've spent half the time I've been in this position trying to claim that the Reapers don't exist. They've blocked out me and the Alliance ever since Shepard's death."

"Well you and I both knew that was what they were going to do." I said, shaking my head. "They were even acting up about it during her damn funeral."

The projectors suddenly turned on, as the three councilors appeared. They looked, to say the least, annoyed.

"Ah, glad that your here, Councilors." Anderson greeted, standing up from his desk and walking over to the projectors.

"_Dispense with the pleasantries, Anderson._" The turian councilor quickly said, looking at the six of us. "_Who are these people?_"

"These are some of Shepard's friends." Anderson answered, looking at us. "They're here to help."

"I'm surprised you don't remember me, Councilor." I said casually, walking over and holding my helmet underneath my arm as I spoke. "You didn't seem to like my speech at Shepard's funeral very much... you know, the one about the impending doom currently breathing down our necks..."

To my satisfaction, the turian councilor glared at me instead of opening his mouth to object to my comment. TOOO: 3, Council: 0

"_I still think this meeting would be more productive if Udina were to join us._" The asari councilor said, bringing the attention back to her.

"My "adviser" is unavailable." Anderson said, looking hard at her. "As councilor, I represent the voice of humanity and the Alliance. Shepard should be her-"

Anderson was cut off as Commander Catherine Shepard, in the flesh, walked through the door. My momentary burst of happiness was cut short as soon as I saw who was with her.

Miranda Lawson, and Jacob Taylor.

"Ah, Commander... we were just talking about you." Anderson greeted, as Miranda, with a sudden shocked face, drew her pistol and aimed it squarely at me. Jacob, just as surprised by her actions, grabbed Miranda's hand and twisted it upwards.

"What the HELL are you doing?!" Jacob exclaimed, as he looked hard at her.

"Miranda, I order you to stand down!" Shepard ordered, stepping in front of her and yanking the pistol out of her hand.

"These six are enemies of Cerberus!" She said, trying to pull her hand free.

"Miranda, I am going to tell you this once." Shepard warned, looking very closely at her. "Get out of this room now and report back to the ship."

Miranda then yanked herself out of Jacob's grasp. She stood there for a second, glaring at me, before storming out of the room. Shepard then turned to me, with the same angry face.

"You are going to tell me what the just happened after this meeting." Shepard told me, looking at the door. "You and your friends go wait outside."

We quickly complied with her orders, as the six of us piled out of the room. We stood outside in the little junction between the rooms for a few minutes before Shepard and Jacob came out.

"Well, first thing's first, glad you see you again, Shepard." I said with a small bit of casual tone. "It's good to see you out here again, and working with Cerberus. Congrats."

"I had no choice." Shepard said, having a confused look plastered on her face. "OK, please tell me what just happened in that room."

"Well... the short version is Cerberus decided to pick a bone with us while you were... sleeping, or whatever." I said, holding my forehead. "We destroyed a few of their bases, where they were going to experiment on us, until eventually Sydney and I were captured and tortured for three days before being rescued."

"What?!" Shepard said with an outraged look on her face. "They were doing sick things before, but that is absolutely horrid."

"Yeah, we had a small run-in with Miranda about... a year ago." I said, scratching my chin. "We left her unconscious in a dumpster on Omega."

"Figures that she wouldn't have told me anything about this." Shepard said, her face covered in glowing scars. "I'm going to have a long, LONG talk with her and The Illusive Man about this."

"You can try, but I doubt they'll tell you much." I said, moving closer to her. "I'm asking you, Shepard, no matter what, don't take The Illusive Man's word on anything."

"I already don't trust him, but at the moment they're the only ones trying to find out what happened to the missing colonies." Shepard explained, holding her forehead now. "OK... if it's alright with you, how about I come over to your ship later so you can give me that longer version?"

"I'm sure that can be arranged." I agreed, shaking her hand. "And thanks for the help in there, Jacob Taylor. I'm sorry that you chose to work with these people."

"That's understandable, considering what Cerberus has done to you in the past." Jacob replied politely. "I may be working for Cerberus, but that doesn't mean I can't tell right from wrong."

"I think that's a quality TIM would preferably phase out of his organization." I commented, shaking his hand, then looking to Shepard. "Zakera Ward, one hour."

"Got it." She confirmed, as started walking away.

Shepard was back. ME2 has begun.

…

**A/N: This was a hard chapter to write, despite the time I've put into it. The ME2 story arch has officially begun, meaning that if you guys are lucky I may start releasing chapters more often. If ****you have any suggestions, fell free to leave them in a helpful review!**

**Please remember to fav and review my story, this is GIR, signing out!**


	53. Shepard's Plan

...

Sean's POV

Even though we were defiantly under the eyes of Cerberus again, I felt safe enough to stand outside the ship in casual wear to greet Shepard. Things were particularly quiet today, which gave me plenty of time to think about our possibilities at this point.

Even though I would kill to get onto the SR2, I still didn't trust our safety aboard it. I knew that TIM had bugged the entire ship with surveillance devices. It didn't help that the ship was also occupied with the Cerberus cheerleader, which in itself concerned me after the encounter in Anderson's office.

I was beginning to wonder if we would somehow play a different role in the near future.

Soon afterwards, Shepard strolled onto the dock wearing, oddly enough, and N7 hoodie.

"So, decided to go back to and older style, huh?" I said with a smile, looking her up and down. "I always did like hoodies."

"I found it in my cabin, tucked underneath the bed." She replied, looking at herself. "I liked it."

"So I only just now realized that you never did get the official tour of our ship." I started, looking at the airlock. "Wanna see the thing that's kept us safe these last two years?"

Shepard nodded her head, as I took her inside. I showed her everything, from the engines to the bridge. Along the way, I told her what had happened the last two years, from our rescue of the Alliance marines, to our abduction and subsequent rescue. Shepard stayed quiet during all of it, pouring over my thoughts.

Once we had come to the briefing room, everyone else on the ship was there, waiting for us, even Bastila in hologram form on the projector in the center of the table.

"And before we begin, I would like to introduce Bastila." I said, holding out my hand at her.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Commander." Bastila greeted warmly, nodding as Shepard sat down. Shepard, to my surprise, was not as shocked as I expected her to be.

"First EDI, then this..." She muttered under her breath, holding her forehead as she quickly looked back at Bastila and returned her greeting.

"So Shepard... here we are, your old team." I said with a smile, as I sat down at the long end of the table.

"At least your conference room has chairs." Shepard said with some humor, sitting down. "So... you've told me your side of the story, I'll tell you mine since it's much shorter."

Shepard then went over the details of her useless assignment the council had assigned her after the Battle of the Citadel, the destruction of the Normandy, and her rebirth on a remote Cerberus research station. The moment Shepard mentioned Freedom's Progress, specifically the part about meeting Tali, I instinctively broke my silence.

"How's Tali?" I quickly asked, as everyone looked my direction. "I haven't even talked to her in almost a year."

"She seems to be doing very well, she was leading a few Mirgrant Fleet marines in the search for a quarian called Veetor, who had survived the attack." Shepard explained, looking a little harder at me. "We helped them to find Veetor, who had reprogrammed the colony's defenses to attack anything that moved. Once we found him and the evidence, we let her and those remaining in her squad take him back to the fleet."

Shepard then managed to acquire Mordin Solus and Zaeed before coming to the Citadel, finally meeting back up with us.

"So, this is the idea I came up with." Shepard laid out, standing up from her seat. "I have a list of people that can help stop the Collectors, but they're spread out across the galaxy."

"Are you saying you want us to help you get these... specialist for your little war?" Weigman asked, leaning against the table with a smile. "This sound like a challenge."

"I know none of you want to be anywhere near Cerberus, and frankly I don't trust them either after what you've told me." Shepard said, looking hard at all of us. "But after having a little "talk" with the Illusive Man, I've convinced him to lay off and allow you to help."

"Hpmh, sounds likely." Allen said, looking down at the ground with his arms folded. "The moment he doesn't need you he'll turn on all of us, just watch."

"I'm asking this of you, not him." Shepard said, shaking her head. "And as far as he is concerned, I'm in charge of this operation. At the moment, you six are the only people I trust enough to even tell something like this."

We poured over it for a few minutes, before Weigman said that he wanted to do it. We all followed shortly afterwards, as Shepard pulled out a datapad and handed it to me.

"I've split up the names he gave me, here." She said, as I looked over the names. On the datapad were dossiers for Jack, Thane Krios, Samara, and lastly, Tali Zorah.

"I've got one extra, a thief called Kasumi Goto, who I'm going to try tackling next." Shepard said, taking out her datapad and comparing. "Do you think you can do it? I've already had Miranda modify the messages that were sent out to your list."

"Now Commander, have we ever let you down?" I said with a smile, as I leaned backwards in my chair. "If you tell us to do something, we get it done."

"I was hoping you would say that." Shepard said with a smile, as she shook my hand. "I just wanted to make sure you all didn't lose your energy over the last two years."

"We kept ourselves busy." I said, as we all moved out to get ready. I led Shepard back outside, where I have her a big hug before she left.

Time to get to work.

…

Allen's POV

Two Hours Later

I dropped my bag of technical parts down on my desk as I sloughed into my room. Shepard was gone and for the most part we actually knew what was going to happen for a while, but my mind was still racing with possibilities. We had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen up until the end of Arrival, but other than that we were completely in the dark. My thoughts were cut short as my door rang.

"Come in." I said lazily, propping my feet on the edge of my desk.

It was John, holding a metal box.

"Um... I found this in the airlock." He said with a little disbelief, as he looked at the tag on top. "It just says "Recovered in Geth Space, extra ammunition inside."

"Is it anything dangerous?" I asked, looking hard at him, as I took it out of his hands.

"Bastila says they're isn't anything volatile or corrosive inside." John explained, looking hard at the box. "Perhaps... it's a Geth weapon or something."

The possibility of getting a new weapon got my blood pumping through me, so I set the case down on the bed and carefully opened it. Once I saw what was inside, my face lit up in one of the biggest smiles I had ever had.

"Is that... a minigun?" John asked, as I picked up the large weapon. "Jesus Christ."

I didn't respond as I looked carefully over the bluish-gray beauty. The organic style of the Geth was evident all over the weapon, aside from the four barrels connected with a large ring. I felt like giving this thing a hug it was so beautiful.

"Um... are you OK, Allen?" John asked, tapping me on the shoulder, which managed to snap me out of my daze. "There's a form inside as well."

"Oh, go ahead and read it." I said, still staring at the minigun.

"This is a Geth "Spitfire", recovered by me and my team from the scuttled Geth Cruiser you saved us from." John read, looking at me with a smile. "Since we we're only researchers of radiochemestry, I hope you can put it to better use. Signed, Dr. Mary Franklin."

"She's the shrink from that Geth ship, right?" I questioned, as I found the on switch for the gun, testing the spin of the barrels.

"Yeah." He answered, putting the paper back into the box. "Um... I'll leave if your planning on having sex with that thing."

"I just might." I said in a dirty tone, as I stopped the spin and placed it back into the case. "Thanks man."

"I'm always happy to help people out." He said with a smile, as he left the room.

I sat in my office chair, staring at it until I felt the ship's engines sputter to life.

"Hey, where we goin' first?" I asked, watching the stars fly by the window as the purple haze moved away.

"_We're going to recruit Sean's girlfriend._" Thomas replied with a bit of a mocking tone."_She's on Haestrom, on some sort of mission from the Admiralty."_

"You know, I did play the game too, you know." I said with annoyance, as I began unpacking my parts. "Just let me know when we get there, I have to fix my Contact Beam."

"_Sure thing._" Thomas replied, cutting the line.

…

Sean's POV

The shuttle touched down on the surface of Haestrom, as the six of us quickly piled out. The shuttle, controlled by Bastila, then quickly sped off to get back to the ship. She would be taking the Endar Spire out of the Geth-controlled system until we activated our beacon.

"Watch out, that sun will cook you like a nuclear reactor if your shields fail." I warned, as one unfortunate little creature made the mistake of venturing out into the light, cooking in seconds.

"Stay in the shadows, no problem." Weigman said, pulling his recon hood over his face.

We quickly stormed through the sunlight, making our way to the shade near a gate to the next area. Gunfire could be heard in the distance as we got closer. Inside the room with the controls, there were dead quarians and Geth still clutching their rifles.

"Damn it, looks like we got here too late." John said, leaning down to look closer at them. "You sure you know where Tali is?"

"I'm positive, we just need to get through this gate first." I answered, touching the biggest button on the panel. The gate shuttered open loudly, revealing two Geth waiting on the other side. We shot them, coming through to see a jungle-like amalgamation of rusted metal and concrete before us.

We were stopped on our tracks as a Geth dropship quickly flew over us, firing down Geth ready to fight. They didn't last long as we tore through their shields, splattering white fluids over the dark-grey concrete.

We raced through the sunlight again, reaching a smaller hallway which contained three Geth, one of them being a Hunter. I took down the Hunter's shields before it could cloak, as Allen started unloading on all three of them with a weapon I had never seen before. They were utterly shredded as the weapon tore through them like a plasma saw.

"Um...where did you get that...minigun?" I asked, looking closely at the quad-barreled weapon.

"Oh, I picked it up inside that guardhouse." He answered, spinning the barrels on it, then looking at the communicator on another dead quarian as it started emitting static. "Sounds like we still have people out there fighting."

I picked up the communicator, adjusting it so the static would clear up.

"_OP-1, this is Squad Leader Kal' Reegar, come in, over!_" Kal said from the other side of the line.

"This is Sean of the Endar Spire, me and my team passed a lot of your dead troops on the way in, you are the first survivor I've heard from." I responded, holding the communicator.

"_Damn... Wait, Sean? The human mercenary that saved Tali's life?_" Kal questioned, sounding confused. "_I don't know why your here, but right now, any organic is a welcomed sight._"

"I'm glad that someone is happy to see us today." I said off-hand, looking out into the distance. "Need some help?"

"_Patch your radios into Channel 617 Theta. We were on a stealth mission, high risk._" Kal explained, sounding out of breath as I looked at everyone to make sure they were patched in. "_We found what we were looking for, but the Geth found us. They've got us pinned down. We can't get to our ship, and we can't transmit data through the solar radiation._"

"Where are you right now, you current position?" I asked, as smaller explosions could be heard in the distance.

"_We're bunkered down at the base camp across the valley. I left Tali'Zorah at a secure shelter, then doubled back to hold the chokepoint._" Kal said, as more gunfire picked up in the background. "_Getting Tali out is our top priority. If you can extract her, we'll keep them off you._"

"Stay where you are, we'll get you out of here." I said, as a Geth dropship dropped more troops outside the safety of the tunnel. Allen and I quickly unloaded on them, reducing them down to size as we quickly went through. On the other side of the area, there were three quarians defending a door. Their base camp.

"_Wait, watch your ass, we have a heavy dropship coming in!_" Kal warned in the radio, as a larger Geth dropship swooped in and obliterated the cover, and the building entrance, that the quarians had been using. It also fired at us, as we all quickly dove behind cover to avoid the explosions. My ears were ringing, but we were unscathed aside from a few scrapes.

"_Crap, the doorway is completely caved-in!_" Kal exclaimed, as bits of rubble rolled down the pile. "_Grab the demo charges in the buildings nearby and-_"

"Hold that thought." Allen interrupted, as he ran up to the still smoldering pile of rubble and started sticking explosives inside it.

"_We're moving ahead, the Geth are converging on Tali's position!_" Kal explained, as more gunfire could be heard inside. "_We'll try to hold them off until you get through._"

"Good luck, Kal'Reegar." I said, as the line went dead. I looked at Allen, who was diligently placing explosives inside the rubble. "How long is that going to take?"

"About ten more seconds." He answered, still placing charges. He then signaled for all of us to get out of range, as we all took cover in the shade. "Kaboom."

Allen hit the detonator, as large chunks of concrete flew over our heads and shattered around us. When I looked up, there was but a crater where the large pile of debris was, and an opening revealing the entrance to the building.

We quickly made our way inside only to find more dead quarians and Geth. Not to much surprise, Tali was talking through one of the consoles, asking if anyone was here.

"_Hello? Is anyone there?_" She asked, as I pressed the receiver on the console.

"Tali, it's Sean." I answered, looking at her hologram as I spoke. "I'm sorry, but everyone else here is dead."

"_Sean?_" Tali exclaimed, holding the top of her helmet. "_I'm not complaining ,but you've chose one of the strangest times to come and see me! What are you doing in Geth space?_"

"Me and my team were in the neighborhood, and thought we could lend a hand." I said wish a smile, leaning on the console.

"_Thanks for coming, Sean. It means a lot to hear your voice._" Tali thanked, as she looked over her shoulder. "_Kal'Reegar and what's left of the marines got me into the observatory. From where you are, it's through the door and across the field. I have what we came for, but there's a lot of Geth outside._"

"Is anyone else with you, or are you alone?" I asked, looking around the room. "Kal'Reegar and a few of his marines were just in here a minute ago."

"_Reegar had a team of marines covering me when I ran for the observatory._" Tali said, getting a bit more quiet. "_At least some of them are still alive, I can hear them firing at the Geth outside._"

"About that door, it's locked down." I said, looking at the flickering icon on the door. "Can you get it opened from where you are?"

"_Hmm... let me see... yes, I can do it._" She replied, looking down at her console. "_Here, it should be unlocked now. Be careful out there, Sean, and do what you can to keep Reegar alive._"

The hologram flickered away as the door opened, revealing another room. I hit the button on the console, as the window panels slid open, revealing a Geth Colossus. It was waiting for us, as it fired a heavy round at us.

"Mother fu-" Allen shouted, as I shoved him hard.

"Get down!" I shouted, as the round obliterated the console and the chunk of wall that was around it. Me and everyone else quickly got on our feet, giving our ears a moment to stop ringing as we scooted down to where Kal'Reegar was taking potshots with his rocket launcher at the Colossus.

"Over here, get to cover!" He shouted, leaning up to take another shot. "I still got no idea why your hear, but now's not the time to be picky."

"You wouldn't be getting a lot of help if that were the case." I said, as another loud explosion went off.

"Heh, Tali's inside over there." Kal said, taking a peek over the metal barrier. "The Geth killed the rest of my squad, and their trying to get to her."

"That's not going to happen." I said, taking a peek myself at the large formation of Geth.

"Exactly. The Geth are near platoon strength, but the Colossus is the worst part." Kal explained, as rounds whizzed over our heads. "It keeps getting under cover and repairing itself, and ever since I tried to get closer one of the bastards punched a hole clean through my suit."

"We need to get to Tali, any ideas?" I said, as another round tore away at the cover. "I see three ways to get to her, but they all seem equally dangerous."

"Just one." Kal said, looking at his rocket launcher. "I'm not moving so well, but I can still pull a trigger, and I still got a rocket launcher the sun hasn't fried yet. You move in, and maybe I can take down it's shields so you can finish it off."

"You've done enough, Reegar, there's no need to throw your life away." I said, trying to keep him down.

"I'm not asking your permission." Kal replied, looking hard at me, as he got ready to take another shot. "It's my job to protect Tali, and this is the best we-"

I stopped him from getting up any farther, as I shouted "We don't have enough people on our side for you to be taking one for the team! Stay down!"

"I'm not going to stand there while you run into enemy fire." Kal argued, shaking his head. "They killed my whole squad!"

"And if you want to honor them, watch our back!" I countered, looking at the platform we came from. "I need you here in case any more of them show up!"

"Ugh... all right, Sean, we'll do it your way." Kal finally agreed, looking down. "Hit them for me, Keelah se'lai!"

"Alright... Allen, Sydney, and John, go along the left down there." I said, turning to my friends. "Weigman, Thomas and I will take that perch to the right. We;ll flank the Colossus on both sides."

With that said, Allen, Sydney and John shimmied over the ledge as me, Weigman and Thomas ran like a bat outta hell to the sniper perch. On the perch there was very little sunlight, so we resorted to taking potshots at the Geth, then making a run for the next pieces of cover. Us taking out the Rocket troopers up here instantly made things easier for Allen and the others, as they quickly hid near the Colossus' position. We quickly caught up, plowing through a Hunter that had almost managed to cloak before we destroyed it.

"Allen, I'm charging the BFG, get it to face you!" I said into the radio, as the pitter-patter of his minigun could be heard. This attracted the attention of the Colossus and the Geth around it, as I quickly popped out of cover and fired a charged BFG round at it. The entire battlefield almost went completely silent afterwards, as the Colossus and the Geth around it had all been reduced to a green-hot junk pile.

After we had regrouped at the entrance, I opened the door to the observatory. Inside, there were Geth bodies lying everywhere, with Tali on the other side of the room working at a console.

"Just let me finish this download..." She said, as we slowly walked to her. I found it funny that she was still wearing the coat that I had given her, which looked a bit scuffed around the edges. "Thank you, Sean. If not for you I would have never left this room. This whole mission has been a disaster."

"You know I'm always here to help." I said with a small smile, as I took off my helmet.

"What ARE you doing here, anyways?" She asked, folding her arms. "First Shepard on Freedom's Progress, now you here on Haestrom. It's like some sort of reunion."

"I met up with Shepard yesterday, and she wanted our help recruiting people to help stop the Collectors." I explained, sitting down on a piece of rubble. "We came here hoping you would join us."

"And you do know she's working with Cerberus, right?" Tali questioned, leaning against the console. "She was with two Cerberus agents in Freedom's Progress."

"She's made it perfectly clear to the Illusive Man that she is the one in control, Tali." I said with honesty. "You know we wouldn't be working around Cerberus if we didn't completely trust her."

"Yes... your right." She agreed, giving me a hug. "I can leave with you once I send the data to the fleet. And if the Admirals have a problem with it they can all go to hell. I just watch the rest of my team die."

"Maybe not the whole rest of your team, ma'am." Kal said, limping into the room.

"Reegar, you made it!" Tali said with relief in her voice.

"Your old mercenary friend's as good as you said." Kal'Reegar complemented, holding his chest. "Damn Colossus never stood a chance."

"If you need it we can get you out of here, Reegar." I offered, as he turned to face me.

"Well, the Geth didn't damage our ship, we'll be fine as long as we get out of here before reinforcements arrive." Kal replied, leaning against the wall.

"Actually, I won't be going with you." Tali said, looking at Reegar. "I'm joining Sean and his crew."

"I'll pass the data to the Admiralty Board and let them know what happened." Kal'Reegar responeded, looking at me. "She's all yours now, Sean. Keep her safe."

I nodded, as he left to his ship, and I activated our beacon. A few minutes afterwards, the Kodiak dropped down, as we all piled inside and sped back to the ship.

Back on the ship, it shuttered as we fled Geth space. Things were now safe.

"Once were out of FTL speeds you can talk to Shepard herself in the QEC, Tali." I explained, as we walked through the ship.

"That sounds good, considering the subsidiaries hovering above you and your team right now." Tali said, obviously not happy with the prospect of working for Cerberus.

"So... you want to talk?" I asked, stopping in the hallway. "About us?"

"Hm... and to think I thought you would never ask." Tali said with a hint of humor in her voice, as she walked up to me and placed her hand on my shoulder. "I have to tell you truthfully, I've missed you a lot these last two years."

"So have I." I said, giving her a big, long hug. "Why don't you come to my room for a bit after you've said hi to everyone?"

"You mean after I'm done making sure you haven't broken the engines that I fixed for you." Tali humorously corrected, pushing my shoulder a bit. "I'll be there."

"Gotcha." I said, walking to the elevator and hitting the "UP" button.

…

**A/N: This was such a fun chapter to write, I must admit. I always did love the mission on Haestrom, and writing it was just as much, if not more, fun.**

**Since this will be the last chapter before Christmas, I hope you guys will leave me a good present in the form of a review, telling me what you think. I can't thank all of you enough for all the support you've given me over the last two years, It's nearly overwhelming.**

**Please remember to fav and review my story, this is GIR, signing out!**


	54. Purgatory

…

Sean's POV

"Hey Bastila, I wanted to ask you to do something." I said casually, as I cleaned up my room before Tali came here.

"And what would that be?" She asked, her hologram appearing on my desk.

"Can you... try to act like a V.I. whenever Tali is around?" I requested, taking my BFG and locking inside my secret compartment. "At least for now?"

"I understand your need to be discreet about my presence, considering the quarian history with the Geth." Bastila said with an understanding tone, nodding at me. "Should I relay this request to the rest of the team?"

"Yeah, and while you're at it tell HK to keep his mouth shut as well." I said, sitting back down in my chair. "Thanks again, Bastila."

"My pleasure." Bastila replied, nodding as her hologram dissipated.

I began taking off my armor, starting with the helmet, then the chestplate. I only realized in the well-lit ship that the helmet needed cleaning, as I saw grim built up around the edges. I instinctively began to clean it with cleaner and an old rag I always left around, when I suddenly heard my door slide open.

It was Tali, and I was shirtless.

"Wow Sean... were you waiting for me?" Tali said in a suggestive tone, immediately causing my cheeks to warm up.

"Well... it's not like I didn't know you were coming." I said, playing her off as she stepped inside. I could tell she was staring hard at my arm. "Besides, I was told quarians love tech, no matter the size or shape."

"You do seem to have a good piece of it on you." She replied, standing in front of me as she ran her finger along the joint between my shoulder and my arm. "Seems you've kept it in good condition over the last two years."

"Seems our humor has grown during that time as well." I said with a big smile, as I threw on a shirt. "So what was up with all that "data" you were collecting on Haestrom, anyways?"

"It was a pointless mission." Tail said with frustration, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "You noticed how the sun there was emitting much more radiation for a sun that size than it was supposed to?"

"Yeah, we took readings on our way down." I said, leaning backwards in my chair. "Standing out there for too long was the equivalent to standing inside the melted nuclear reactor core at Chernobyl."

"Chernobyl?" Tali questioned, looking up at me.

"Pripyat, Ukraine... 1986. One of the worst nuclear power plant disasters in human history." I explained, letting the small bit of nerd leak through me. "It was back when our most powerful form of energy came from radioactive materials, not element zero. Over 300,000 people were evacuated from their homes and never returned."

"That must have been horrible." Tali said, shaking her head. "All those people never getting to see their home again... it's like..."

"It's like what happened to you and your people." I finished for her, leaning forward. "Something created by us that ended up spiraling out of our control... eventually driving you away from the very place you live."

"But with your... Chernobyl... that was a physical phenomenon that drove your people away." Tali argued, holding the bottom of her helmet. "The Geth were sentient machines that drove us away, and that didn't drive you away from your whole planet."

"Yet both were influenced by our very own people." I countered, looking her in the eyes. "Humanity tried to better control the power of the atom, and it turned against us. Your people tried to control the Geth's sentience, and they turned against you."

"So what your saying is that radiation is comparable to A.I.?" Tali asked, crossing her arms.

"No, what I'm saying is that we both tried to control something we barely understood, and we failed." I said, shaking my head. "Actually... tell me... what does your father do in the fleet again? Outside of his position on the Admiralty Board?"

"Well... he and his team do research on the Geth." She answered, tilting her head. "I give him disabled parts that I find in Geth space and his team studies them."

I simply shook my head, as I leaned backwards in my chair again. Tali took notice of this.

"What's wrong?" She asked, putting her hand on my knee.

"Nevermind." I said, leaning my head back. "So... you were saying something about the sun's radiation compared to it's size?"

"Oh...yes... well according to the data we collected, Haestrom's sun is decaying at an extremely unnatural rate." Tali explained, bringing up a small hologram on her omni-tool of it. "I believe it may have something to do with dark energy."

Her thoughts were cut short as the ship shuttered, meaning we were back in normal space.

"Well... let's go say hi to Shepard." I said, standing up and rubbing her shoulder.

We made our way to the comm room, where Shepard was already waiting in the QEC. Thomas was handling the connection at one of the consoles nearby.

"You made sure the connection is isolated, right?" I asked, stepping into view. "Last thing I need is for TIM to be able to track our ship with it."

"I saw to that myself, don't worry." She reassured, crossing her arms. She was still wearing the outfit Kasumi provides for her, which I could tell was making Shepard feel uncomfortable. "Anyways... we now have the best thief in the galaxy on our ship."

"And we have the best Quarian mechanic in the galaxy." I said with a smile, as Tali walked into view.

"It's good to see you again, Shepard." Tali greeted, nodding her head. "I've heard about your mission."

"I heard about what happened on Haestrom..." Shepard started, as Tali held up her hand.

"It's alright, Commander." Tali reassured, standing straighter. "Nobody would have gotten out of there alive if it weren't for Sean and his friends."

"I'm always happy to help." I said, crossing my arms with a smile.

"So Tali... would you rather stay on Sean's ship?" Shepard asked with careful tenderness. "I know you're people have been on... short terms with Cerberus as of late."

Tali then turned around, holding the bottom of her helmet up with her hand. She was debating with herself, obviously attracted to checking out a ship as advanced as the new Normandy. She eventually made up her mind, as she turned around to face Shepard once more.

"I think I'd prefer to stay here on the Endar Spire. Shepard." Tali decided, turning to face me for a few seconds. "There's more people that I trust here."

"That's perfectly fine, Tali." Shepard said, holding out her hand. "But when the time comes to bring about our assault on the Collectors, you will help us fight?"

"Of course I will, Shepard." Tali answered with confidence. "But... there is something I can pass along, if you want, Shepard."

"What would that be?" Shepard asked, interested.

"My people have been doing a lot of research into Cyclonic Barrier Technology, a new, more effective form of kinetic shielding." Tali said, taking her omni-tool and sending several schematics through the QEC. "If you have the money for it, I'd recommend installing it."

"Thanks you very much, Tali." Shepard thanked, sending something of her own through the communicator. "I've sent you a copy of the Normandy's schematics, and what engineering data I can. If you spot anything worth improving or that needs to be fixed, feel free to call me back."

"Sure thing, Shepard." Tali agreed, nodding.

"Sean, you keep her and your friends safe." Shepard addressed, looking hard at me.

"Likewise, Commander." I said, instinctively saluting.

Shepard smiled as the connection was cut, and her hologram faded away. Tali immediately turned to me, placing an OSD in my hand.

"I'd recommend getting the upgraded shielding too, considering how old this ship is." Tali said with a serious tone.

"How much do you think it would cost for a ship this size?" I asked, gripping the OSD in my palm.

"Um... around... 60,000." Tali said with a bit of a softness.

I exhaled at those numbers, thanking myself that we had plenty of money saved up for this occasion.

"Yeah, we've been saving up." I agreed, giving her a hug.

"_Sean and Tali, sittin' in a tree, K.I.S.S.I.N-_" Thomas said quietly under his breath, as I slugged him in the shoulder.

"Hey, sniper-boy, tell everyone we're going after Jack next." I told him, as me and Tali walked out of the comm suite.

"You and Thomas have quite the friendship, huh?" Tali said with humor, as we made out way to the elevator.

"I've known him since I was a small kid." I said with honesty. "You know... two kids... both socially awkward... become best friends. It happens."

"I can see that." She said, as we stepped into the elevator. "You two certainly act weird when I'm around."

"Thomas acts like an immature kid." I said with some humor in my voice, as I hit the button to go back to the crew deck. "He thinks it's "funny" that you and I are in a relationship."

"Why would he find that funny?" She asked, sounding confused.

"Because he's immature." I said again with a laugh, as the doors slid open, revealing John with HK-47 in tow. "Oh... hello John."

"Sup man." John said casually, nodding at Tali. "Hey, do you know where Allen went? He's not in his room."

"I don't know... did you try the Repair Bay?" I suggested, stepping out of the elevator with Tali.

"Nope, we'll go there next." John said, as he and HK stepped into the elevator.

"Statement: I wish to know when this unit will get to see some action." HK said, causing me to stiffen nervously. "It has been too long since I have killed a meatbag."

"Shut up." I said with anger, as the doors closed on both of them.

"Wait... did that mech just refer to itself in the first person?" Tali questioned, sounding slightly concerned.

"Yeah, he does that sometimes." I said, playing off his little slip of silence. "John programmed that custom mech with a dynamic personality that he adds to whenever he gets the chance."

Tali seemed to take well to my explanation, as we continued to go down the hallway. Halfway down, though, she asked me another question.

"What is a meatbag?" She asked, sounding puzzled.

"John thought it would be funny if HK called every organic it saw a "meatbag." I explained, as we finally reached my room again. "So, he took the liberty of programming it to call all organics that very term."

"I suppose that's kind of funny." She agreed, as I plopped myself down onto my bed. "Why does it sound so... happy about killing things?"

"I dunno, ask John." I said casually, taking off my boots. "He's the one that keeps HK running."

"If it's alright with you, I'm going to check the drive core for a while." She said, standing in the doorway. "I think it's overdue for a round on quarian maintenance."

"It's perfectly fine with me." I agreed, as she walked back down to the elevator, making my door close automatically.

I let myself fall on the bed, as all of my exhaustion suddenly took control of my limbs.

"_Geez Sean... you needed that workout._" I thought, staring at my ceiling, as I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

…

Allen's POV

Three Days Later

"Aw, for FUCK SAKE!" I shouted, tossing my wrench across the hanger. "Why is it so FUCKING HARD to install a cannon on the shuttle?"

"You screamed?" John said, walking into the hanger with HK-47 in tow.

"Fuck you." I yelled, walking back over and picking up my wrench. "Are you hear to help, or to piss me off?"

"Which would you prefer?" He said, sounding slightly more angry.

"Inquiry: Why would a meatbag want to be voluntarily traumatized?" HK asked in his usual, creepily happy tone. "Wouldn't that be preferred for a interrogative or persuasive situation?"

Both of us just stared at the droid in silence afterwards, as I walked back over and he took a look at the cannon.

"What do we need these things for, anyways?" He asked, looking down the barrel of the weapon. "Isn't having this ship enough already?"

"Well... would you rather have people shooting at you as you walk out that hatch, or would you prefer blasting them to bits with high-explosive rounds then walk out calmly?" I asked, as re-adjusted the control box.

"OK... I see your point." He answered, sounding stupid as he looked harder at the cannons. "Anyways... I think the problem is you've got these braces backwards. Here."

He quickly swiped the wrench out of the toolbox, undoing the braces and switching them around. He basically took over for the next five minutes, as I watched him assemble the cannon mounts.

"There you go." He said with satisfaction, as he stood up and brushed off his hands.

"Damn, you sure know the mechanical side of things better than I do." I complemented, crossing my arms.

"I think you should stick to making things go boom." He said, poking me in the chest with the wrench. "Anyways... want me to do the other side?"

"Oh... sure." I said, surprised that he was taking work off my hands. I turned to HK for entertainment.

"So... looking forward to coming on the mission to get Jack later, HK?"

"Answer: Certainly, master. It has been far too long since I have gotten to practice my assassination protocols." HK answered enthusiastically, taking his rifle out. "When will the mission begin?"

"Soon." I said with a smile.

…

Sean's POV

Four Hours Later

The Endar Spire accelerated towards Purgatory, the massive space prison. Only after we got closer to it did I realized how much bigger it was than in the game.

"This thing was used to transport cattle?" Thomas questioned, pressing his hand against the tempered glass. "This seems excessive for cattle."

"You would think." Sydney agreed, as she requested docking permission. "If that were really the case then that was a lot of beef and pork."

"Hell yeah." Allen said, leaning against the wall with a smile on his face.

A docking cradle connected with the ship, as me, Tali, Thomas and Allen gathered at the airlock.

"Remember, these guys are Blue Suns, so don't trust them." I warned, as the inner airlock pressurized itself.

"Why?" Tali asked, confused. "What did you do to them?"

"Well... we _might_ have killed a few of them in the past." Thomas said with a smirk, as he adjusted his visor. "Hopefully they don't remember us. Shepard put me down as "Captain Sean", so hopefully that will be enough to throw them off."

We stepping inside the airlock, letting it cycle, as we walked down the cradle into the station. The entrance was the same as before, a long hallway leading to a security checkpoint.

"Follow my lead, guys." I said, as we calmly walked down the hallway to meet the guard at the other end.

"Welcome to the Purgatory, Captain Sean. You're package is being prepped and will be ready shortly." The fully-armored turian greeted. "As this is a high-security vessel, you and your team will need to relinquish your weapons before we proceed."

"That's not going to happen." I replied, as Warden Kuril walked through the checkpoint.

"Everyone stand down." Kuril said, walking over casually. "Captain, I am Warden Kuril, and this is my ship. Your weapons will be returned on the way out, you must realize this is just standard procedure."

"I'm not giving you my weapons. Period." I answered, giving Kuril a long, angry stare as he did the same.

"Let them proceed." He finally gave in, nodding in the direction of the door. "Our facility is more than secure enough to handle four armed guest. We're bringing Jack out of cryo, as soon as the funds clear you'll be on your way."

"_Sure we will, asshole._" I let drift into my thoughts, as me and the others walked past the guards and followed Kuril inside the prison.

Warden Kuril then took us on his little "intimidation tour", showing us the prison's defenses and bragging about it's strengths.

"It must cost a pretty penny to maintain a facility like this." Allen commented, as we watched the prisoners below.

"Each prisoner brings in a fee from their own planet." Kuril explained, stopping and turning around. "Their funds keep the station operational."

"And if they don't pay?" Thomas asked, leaning on the railing as he looked down.

"We explain that we can't maintain the prisoner without their help, so we'll be forced to return them." Kuril answered, looking at him. "At an unspecified place and time."

"That sounds like an extortion racket." Tali commented, shaking her head.

"You don't have to agree with my methods, but don't question my motives." Kuril said, pointing at her. "These are sick people, and I'm keeping them locked up."

"Have any prisoners ever tried to escape?" I inquired as we walked, as he gave me another stare.

"We're in space." He replied, putting his eyes back forward. "They have nowhere to go, and they know it. But still, we exercise extreme caution."

We walked into a forked area, where Kuril stopped and turned to face us.

"I'm going to confirm the funds from Cerberus cleared." He said, as he started down one of the other hallways. "Out-processing is straight down that hallway, just past the interrogation rooms and the super-max wing."

He stopped to give me one more long stare, before walking off.

"I'll catch up with you later... Sean." He said, as the door closed behind him.

We calmly walked down the hallway, until we encountered the room with the man being beaten. It was even worse than the game. Here, the man was literally rolling around in his own blood and sweat as the turian guard inside beat him senseless.

"It doesn't matter what he did." Tali said, looking at it too. "Nobody deserves to have that done to them."

In response to this cruelty, I decided to try and stop it.

"Hey, is this really necessary?" I said with anger, attracting the watching guard's attention.

"This is nothing compared to what his victims went through." The guard justified, shaking his head.

"Do you really need to force yourself to watch this though?" I argued, as I waved my hand at the scene inside.

"I do have to admit I do get tired of this." The guard admitted, tapping the side of his helmet. "OK, you can stop the interrogation. For now."

The other guard inside the cell stopped, as the prisoner curled up reflexively into a ball.

We continued down the hallway, ignoring the pleading prisoner, as we passed the super-max wing and entered out-processing. My nerves stiffened as the technician told us to go through the door on the other side of the room.

I opened the door to find a waiting cell, as Kuril's voice flashed over the intercom systems.

"God damn it..." Allen said, shaking his head.

"My apologies, Sean. You're more valuable as a prisoner than a customer, considering the bounty Cerberus still has on your crew." Kuril's bastard voice explained over the intercom. "Drop your weapons and proceed into this open cell. You will not be harmed."

"We've already escaped from a maximum security Cerberus prison, Kuril." I mocked, taking out my Pulse Rifle. "You really think your rinky-dink cattle ship can hold us in?"

"Activate defenses!" Kuril shouted over the intercom, as several Blue Suns and FENRIS Mechs flooded into the room. We quickly managed to pick them off, since there was plenty of cover where we were.

"Sydney, the deal has gone south." I said into the communicator. "Lock down the ship until we get back."

"_Understood._" Sydney replied, as the line went dead.

We quickly stormed down the hallway, taking out three more mercenaries, as we barged into the super-max wing. The lowly technician working the console tried to pull an gun on us before Tali cut him down with her M-22 Eviscerator.

"Sean, if you hack that control, every door on the cellblock will open." Tali warned, as looked over the console.

"I'm doing it, be ready." I said, as I activated Jack's thawing sequence.

We all looked down at the chamber floor as the chamber re-pressurized itself, and the tube slid up, revealing Jack.

"That's Jack?" Tali questioned, watching her closely. "Not exactly what I was expecting."

"Looks can fool." I said, as she started showing signs of movement.

YMIR Mechs began to activate and converge on her cell, as she woke up and broke out of her binds. She quickly charged up her biotics, as she ran forward and DESTROYED everything in her way.

"We need to get down there!" Tali urged, as we quickly rand down the ramp.

"Sounds like some really big shit is hitting an even bigger fan." Allen commented as we descended. "We need to get in there."

We opened the door, revealing a fiery mess of mangled mechs and wreckage.

"Jesus Christ, it looks like a train wreck." Thomas said, as we starting running down the gutted hallway. Kuril was shouting reports and orders over the intercom at a frantic rate.

We entered one of the main cellblocks, as the lights went red and sounds of resistance could be heard already.

"It's like a storm blew through here." Tali observed, as one of the moving cranes collapsed loudly into the deck. "I don't know if it's a good idea to get this woman, Sean."

"For now, we have no choice." I quickly replied as we ran through the cellblock, cutting down the dazed and confused Blue Suns that had just finished putting down the prisoners. We passed a mutilated merc, who had been swarmed by several of the prisoners after reaching the other side.

"He was their keeper. They spent months, maybe years, under his control, and we've seen how prisoners are treated." Tali elaborated, looking at the body. "They're not just wild animals. He probably did horrible things to them."

"Maybe he did, maybe he didn't." Allen said, looking past the body. "Doesn't really matter now that he's dead."

We went through several other dilapidated cellblocks, until we finally ended up in the cellblock next to the docking bay. Where Kuril was waiting.

A shot rang out, the familiar sound of a heavy rifle, as two prisoners hit the ground dead. We quickly took cover as three more shots hit around us.

"Your valuable, Sean. I could have sold your crew and lived like a king." He said quickly, firing another shot. "But your too much trouble. At least I can re-capture Jack."

I was about to mock him, when I saw an odd, familiar form quietly climbing down the wall behind him. I decided to keep him going.

"Not happening. You're a glorified slave trader and I don't have time for it." I said, keeping his attention on me.

"I do the hard things civil governments don't have the gu-" He started to say, as HK quickly jumped him, stabbing him in the neck with an omni-blade. Warden Kuril quickly choked on his own blood, as I ran over and gave him one more glare before he died.

"Sweet dreams." I said with a glare, as his form fell still and HK stood up. "Good job, HK."

"Statement: This unit is happy that it could help, master." HK said, deactivating his omni-blade and taking out his rifle. "It was good to sink my blades into a meatbag."

We quickly stormed back into the docking area, where a Blue Sun that Jack hadn't noticed was taking aim at her. I quickly shot him, gaining Jack's attention.

"Who the hell are you?" She asked, pacing along the deck.

"I just saved your ass." I replied, looking at the guard.

"He was already dead, he just didn't know it." Jack answered, sounding like a badass. "Now... what the hell do you want?"

"My name is Sean, and I'm here on behalf of Commander Shepard to get you off this station." I explained, staying composed. "She's working with Cerberus to take down the Collectors."

"What!" Jack questioned, taking offense to the mention of Cerberus. "There's no way I'm coming with you if your affiliated with Cerberus."

"I'm offering to be your friend. You don't want to be my enemy." I threatened, as she started pacing faster. "Besides, we've been having out own troubles with Cerberus as it is."

"Sean's enemies have a tendency to die." Tali added, holstering her shotgun.

"You show up, claiming to be working with Cerberus, to take me away on your ship?" She questioned, looking out the window at my ship. "Do you think I'm stupid?"

"I've saved your life, I have a way off this burning wreck, I'm offering to take you with us, and your arguing." I said in an annoyed tone, crossing my arms.

"Suggestion: We could incapacitate the meatbag for transport, master." HK quipped up, head jerking to look at me.

"I'd like to see you try." Jack challenged, glaring at me.

"I don't want it to come to that." I said, shaking my head.

"Look, you want me to come with you, make it worth my while." Jack said, walking towards us.

"What did you have in mind?" I asked, folding my arms.

"I bet your employer has access to lots of Cerberus databases." Jack said, looking hard at me. "I want a look at those files, to see what Cerberus had got on me. You want me on your team, let me see those databases."

"I'll get Shepard to give you clearance." I agreed, nodding.

"You better be straight up with me." She said, leaning forward and pointing at me in a threatening manner. "So why the hell are we standing here?"

"Let's move." I said, as we got back onto the ship and escaped Purgatory.

…

****A/N: Yay, last chapter before the new year! Thanks for all the support, everybody!****


	55. Horizon

…

Sean's POV

Oddly enough, Jack and I were walking at nearly the same pace, and stance, as we both made our way to the comm room. Now that I had time for it, I allowed myself to be pissed off.

We quickly walked in, seeing that Shepard was already waiting for us. I actually pushed past JACK of all people so I could have the first crack.

"Shepard, what the FUCK?" I shouted loudly, leaning forward to get her full attention. This surprised her, and caused her to take a step back despite us being light-years away. "I thought we had a truce with Cerberus!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" She said loudly, regaining her composure. "I already talked to him, and he agreed to lay off!"

"Not according to the now deceased warden of that prison!" I said, pointing to the back for emphasis. "He tried to collect on a CERBERUS bounty while we were there to pick up Jack!"

"That bastard." Shepard said, burying her face into one of her hands. "Listen... I'll have a "talk" with him about this later. In the meantime, can I speak to Jack?"

I silently scooted to the side for her to be seen in the projector, as she crossed her arms to take a look at Shepard.

"So you're "the" Commander Shepard." Jack said, looking unimpressed. "I thought from the things I heard about you that you'd be built like a brick shit-house and covered in gold."

"Well... she's a character." Shepard commented, crossing her arms too. "Covered in tattoos and wearing a leather strap to hide her dignity. Classy."

"Ah... the hero of the galaxy can be a smartass too? Impressive." Jack said, looking at her with a smile. "Let's get to the point. If you want me on your team, Shepard, then give me access to what files Cerberus has on me."

"I'll give you full clearance." Shepard agreed, as another voice popped up in the background.

"Shepard, you can't do that!" Miranda Lawson said, stepping into view.

"Who's the skank?" Jack asked, looking annoyed.

"That's Bitchy McThunderthighs, leader of the Cerberus cheerleader squad." Allen said with an angry smile, looking over at us with a can of lemon-lime soda in his hand. This caused Jack to laugh unnervingly loud, as she quickly regained her composure. It also made Miranda angry.

"If I find out who said that, I will vent you in deep space." She said with anger, as she stomped out of view. Shepard was still standing there, with a slightly more amused look on her face.

"I'm starting to like you people." Jack said with another angry smile, as she looked at us. "So... the files or not?"

"You will get your files, Jack." Shepard said with a calmness, as Jack walked out of view.

"And while your at it, Shepard, give us clearance as well." I said with a little less anger, as I looked her hard in the eyes.

"I'll fix this Sean, don't worry." Shepard said, as the line went dead.

I walked out in silence as I went back to my room. I candidly tossed my helmet on the floor, as it skid across the cold floor. I took off my armor, and locked the door so I could take a shower. As the hot water rolled off of me, I leaned against the stall's wall in thought.

"_When is this going to stop?_" I thought, as the memories of Cerberus pain and suffering rolled through my thoughts like the water before me. I knew what the answer was, and even though I wanted it as much as the next person, I knew that many other people deserved to do it so much more than we did... like that poor Alliance woman that they had been experimenting on... or all those people they have killed to keep themselves going.

It would end when The Illusive Man's head lies impaled on a steel pike.

As befitting a Macbeth-style death would be for someone like TIM, I knew it would have to wait.

"_Just promise yourself that if you EVER get the chance... y__ou will kill him._" I thought to myself, as I dried myself off and put on a robe.

Afterwards, I came to the briefing room to find Tali and Allen at one of the vending machines. Allen made his selection, as another can of lemon-lime soda came out.

"See? There it goes again." Allen said, crossing his arms as he stared at the vendor.

"Are you sure you didn't make a mistake?" Tali asked, holding the can.

"I don't make mistakes like that, especially when soda is involved." Allen answered, banging his fist on the machine.

"You could have hit the wrong button?" Tali asked, sounding amused.

"No, I asked for Orange, and it gave me Lemon-Lime. Again." Allen replied with anger, staring down the machine once more.

"Allen, the vending machine isn't going to make a mistake." Tali said, sounding incredibly amused. "It's not even hooked to a computer."

"It's that bastard, John. He knows I like Orange." Allen replied with certainty, looking in the general direction of maintenance.

"So... you think John has some sort of... plot against you?" Tali said, on the verge of bursting out laughing.

"Yes, he would do something like this." Allen said, finally making Tali explode out into laughter.

I walked past them, pressing the button for Orange, as one can of it came grinding out of the machine.

"Here you go." I said with a blank expression, as I handed a dumbfounded Allen the can. This caused Tali to start laughing even harder, as she grabbed onto a chair to keep herself steady.

After things had calmed down, I grabbed my lunch and plopped myself into a chair. Suddenly, the emergency lights flashed green, meaning we were getting a priority call. I left my food there as I quickly bolted down the hallway, going down a floor and entering the comm room. Shepard was already there, waiting in full gear.

"What happened, Shepard?" I said, stopping right on the projector.

"I've just received intel from TIM detailing a possible attack on a Human colony on Horizon." Shepard said with heavy athority in her voice, as she sent us her data. "I want you to get down here as quickly as possible to help us try and stop them. Our science expert, Mordin Solus, has developed a counter-measure to keep their "Seeker Swarms" away from us."

"We'll be there soon, Shepard." I said, as the connection went dead, and I rung in the ship's intercom systems. "All hands, all hands, meet me in the conference room. We're going Collector hunting."

…

15 Hours Later

After I finished briefing everyone on the current situation, we all modded our armor with the specifications Mordin had sent us. We all got to work preparing the ship and our gear, as we neared the planet.

I decided to do something I had planned on doing for a while now. I removed the heavy shoulder pads on my suit, as I slipped on a large, heavy duster. The mag strips for holding my weapons poked out the back of the jacket, allowing me to use them without any "connection issues". When I looked in the mirror, I had to crack a large smile.

I now looked completely like an NCR Veteran Ranger.

"No better time to try it out than now..." I said to myself, as I pulled a medium-sized case out from underneath my bed. Inside was a Smith & Wesson Model 500, a gift from Allen for my 21st birthday. This puppy fired .500 S&W Magnums, which are the pistol equivalent to 50 cal. rounds. I had to say... Allen was thoughtful.

"_All the guns nowadays fire bullets the size of sand... lets fire something the size of my thumb instead._" I thought with a smile, as I loaded the five-chambered gun and put more ammunition into my pocket.

The ship shuttered as we went back into normal speed, meaning we were close to the colony.

"_Attention everyone, we are nearing Horizon._" Sydney said over the intercom, as I quickly walked out of the room and headed for the hanger bay.

Once I had arrived, I found Thomas, John, Jack, Tali and Weigman waiting for me. Sydney was already in the cockpit, warming up the shuttle.

"So we all know what's happening, right?" I said, grabbing onto one of the overhead railings.

"Yeah, we go down and wait for the Collectors to arrive." Thomas said with raised eyebrows, as something in the cockpit started beeping loudly.

"Uh... we might need to re-think that plan." Sydney said, shutting off the alarm. "It seems like they've already arrived."

"Show me." I said, as the screen inside the ship showed an image of a massive Collector Cruiser sitting on the surface. "OK, everyone get strapped in. We're getting down there."

We took off from the ship, entering the planet's atmosphere.

"I'll land us on the outskirts of the colony so we can avoid being immediately detected." Sydney said, as the clear plains rolled by. As we got closer to the colony, It became easier to see the brown clouds of Seeker Swarms infesting the colony.

"Alright, is everyone ready?" Sydney asked, as we hit the ground with a loud thump.

I looked to everyone as they all nodded at me.

"Open the hatch." I said, as it popped open and the loud buzzing noise of the Seeker Swarms ringed in my ears. Luckily, my helmet could filter out the noise.

We walked through the outskirts, where farming vehicles and boxes of equipment were lying without the people to use them.

"The fucking place is deserted." Jack said, looking in all directions. "Where did everyone go?"

"The Collectors must have taken them somewhere else in the colony." Tali observed, looking at the Collector ship. "We need to find them."

We moved farther into the colony, finally seeing some infrastructure, when a louder, different buzz started ringing in the air. Shortly afterwards, ten bug-like Collectors flew over one of the embankments, landing a fair distance away from us.

"Let's do this!" Jack shouted, taking the shotgun we had given her and blasting away at two of them.

I drew my 500. and aimed it at the Collector closest to me. Since I knew these smaller guys were unshielded, I knew the result would be satisfactory. I fired the heavy revolver, instantly blowing a hole directly through the Collector's skull. The recoil surprised me, but I had felt worst.

I took aim at another Collector, who managed to graze me with it's rifle. Because of this, I instead hit this one in the chest, as the round blew through. It died quickly.

The firefight ended quickly, as John took down the last one with a Force Gun. The Seeker Swarms actually started dissipating, moving back towards the ship.

"Sean, are you alright?" Tali asked, as I rotated my burned shoulder around.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." I said, standing up straight. "It'll take more than that to kill me."

All of the sudden, a familiar whine of a Kodiak Shuttle could be heard getting closer, as a Cerberus marked one bolted through the air above us.

"Looks like Shepard finally arrived." I said with a grunt, putting my 500. away and instead taking out my Pulse Rifle. "Let's see if we can't fight our way to the center of the colony before she does."

As we made our way in further, we were attacked again by more Collectors, who were being backed up by several Husks as well. We took care of them quickly, Jack taking out most of the Husks with her biotics. We walked into a new section of the colony, where it was distinctly more city-like. There was much more detail, things such as recently abandoned shops and houses. In front of us was a dead Husk.

"These things look like the husks that Saren used." I said, examining the corpse.

"Saren got that technology from Sovereign." Tali replied bitterly.

"Wait, are you saying these bugs turned the colonists into this ugly thing?" Jack asked, nudging the body with her foot.

"No, Saren impaled his victims on giant spikes to turn them into husks. I don't see any of them here." Tali explained, looking around. "The Collectors already had the husks. They must have taken the colonists alive for something else."

As we moved on, we saw that colonists were still in this area, frozen in place like statues, as well as an abundance of pods ready for them to be placed in. It was eerie, especially since there was otherwise no sign of the Collectors being in this area.

"Everyone keep your guard up, they could be anywhere." I said, as I signaled for everyone to spread out. I went down the side through several inter-connected buildings, seeing more frozen people. Their eyes darted around at us, but were otherwise unable to move.

As we got closer to an area where more industrial equipment was being prepped, the buzz of Collector wings could be heard nearing us. From all sides.

"_We've got company!_" Weigman shouted over the comm, as three of them smashed through the window and landed right in front of me.

I took two of them down before the third fired at me with it's rifle. This one had a beam rifle, so I dived for cover as the weapon burned away at the metal wall. I charged my biotics, as I flew out of cover and disintegrated the Collector's rifle. Just as quickly, I closed the gap and stabbed it quickly with my arm blade.

Not even five seconds afterwards, a loud explosion went off not too far from John's position, tearing apart one of the prefabs. A few more gunshots and the area was quiet again.

"Status!" I ordered, as everyone except John rang in. "John? John!"

I quickly dove through the plate-glass window, running inside the smoking prefab to find John lying on the ground motionless.

"John!" I said in panic, as I scanned him with my omni-tool. Luckily, he had a concussion, most likely after a heavy piece of debris hit him in the head. "John's down, I repeat, John is down."

"Is he alive?" Weigman asked, jumping inside the building.

"He's got a concussion, but otherwise he's alright." I answered, as I hailed Sydney's shuttle. "Sydney, we need a medi-vac, John's down."

All I got was static, as I cursed loudly.

"What's wrong?" Weigman asked, hefting John over his shoulder.

"We can't send long-range communications while these swarms are out here." I replied, as I looked at the Collector ship. "We need to get rid of that ship before we can get him out of here."

"I'll stay here and watch him while you and everyone else move ahead." Weigman offered, as I nodded silently. "Everyone, Weigman will be staying back with John until we can clear up this interference. Meet up at the end of this section and we'll keep moving deeper."

As I ran to get there, I could already hear the faint sounds of gun fire and biotics going off. When I got a visual, I found Jack, Thomas and Tali were already there firing at the large mass of Collectors and Husk that had gathered here. I avoided fire as I slid along the ground to where Thomas had taken cover.

"Is John alright?" Thomas asked, poking out of cover to take another shot.

"He got hit in the head by some debris, but otherwise he's fine." I answered, looking over the wall to get an assessment. There were at least a dozen Collectors out there with, with Husk in the front charging. Tali and Jack were taking quick work of the Husk with their shotguns, but didn't have the range to take on the Collectors without any cover to move up. "Is this the only cover between us and them?"

"I double checked, and there's nothing." Thomas answered, taking another peek. "It's a damn firing squad out there."

"Of all the days I chose not to bring my BFG…" I said, shaking my head. "You think you can take them?"

"Not really, every time I take one out another comes to replace him." Thomas said, stepping out of cover and firing at another Collector, blowing it to bits. "And I really don't want to waste all my heat sinks."

"What are we going here?" Jack asked over the gun fire. "Are we just gonna sit here all day?"

"Jack, can you make some sort of… shockwave with your biotics that can disrupt them?" I asked, looking at her hard.

"I thought you'd never ask." She replied with a smile, as she started charging her biotics. She jumped out of cover, as a blue wave destroyed the cover, and the Collectors behind it.

"Move up!" I shouted, as I ran towards the garage area with everyone in tow. "Tali see if you can get us in there."

More Collectors finally started coming after us, as the three of us defended Tali ask she hacked the door.

"It's open, everyone inside!" Tali shouted, as the heavy door slip open. We moved inside and closed the door right on a Husk that had been gunning for us, reducing the affected side to mush.

"Alright, hold up." I said, as I opened my communicator. "Weigman, are you and John alright out there?"

"_We're fine for now._" He answered, with an odd quiet in the background. "_I moved him to an industrial freezer since the gunfire started getting louder. We're staying in here for now._"

"If anything else happens, call us." I said, looking around the garage. "We're underneath what I think is their Colonial Administration building."

"_Sure thing_." Weigman reassured, cutting off the line.

We went up an emergency ladder, finding another maintenance hallway. This led out to a office-like area that contained cubicles and computers, complete with scattered papers. A window on the other side of the room revealed a much more open, enclosed area that went down a few floors, with a fountain in the middle.

In this area at least twenty Collectors were still hard at work loading people into those pods. They had already cleared this part of the building, from the looks of things.

"Alright, this is what we'll do. Thomas, you stay here and watch them down there. When fighting starts, you bust the window and fire on them." I started, looking hard down at the Collectors. "Tali and Jack, you follow me down there and we'll stop their little collection in this area."

"We're right behind you, Sean" Tali said, as we silently jogged down the stairs. When we had reached the bottom, we moved along the edge of the building until we were really close to their position.

"Open fire!" I shouted, as I unloaded on the Collectors with my rifle, and Tali and Jack did the same. Thomas could be heard smashing the window a distance away as loud shots vibrated through the air. The battle was over quickly, with all the Collectors down on the ground. "Good work, everyone!"

"_-amn it, can anyone hear me down there?_" Sydney's voice suddenly said loudly, finally piercing through the jam.

"Sydney, we can hear you now." I replied, quickly bringing up my comm. "Whatever must have been causing the interference must be gone now."

"_All those swarms just bugged out and went back into that__ship._" Sydney explained, causing me to reflexively look up out the glass dome above us to see we were actually a lot closer to the ship.

"Listen to me, Weigman is with John, and they both need a pick-up." I explained, pinging their location.

"_Wait, those cannons __around the colony are starting to fire at the ship._" She said, as loud booming sounds started vibrating in the distance.

Shortly afterwards, an even louder shrieking sound went off, as a Scion flew through one of the walls, landing in the fountain. It was fucking ugly.

"What is that thing?" Tali shouted, as we all started putting everything we had into it. After Thomas put a few rounds into the top of it from his vantage point, it went into its repair mode, sending out waves of energy and water in the process.

"Watch out!" I warned, as it emitted its larger wave and sent scenery and pods alike flying. It fired a larger "beam" up at Thomas's position, sending him flying from the window. "Thomas!"

He grabbed onto a wire as he fell, but then lost his grip as he luckily fell into the deeper part of the fountain.

Out of panic, I ran out of cover and started unloading in its backside with my Pulse Rifle. It veered around to face me in anger, as I only now realized I had no cover.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a round blast directly through its armor, as it fell over and began disintegrating. I finally saw Thomas, who had emerged from the fountain covered in water and holding a smoking Black Widow.

"Hey… you should come in… the water is nice." He said weakly with a smile, as he fell onto his ass back into the water.

"You alright?" I asked, offering him my hand as he accepted.

"I think so..." He replied, getting back on his feet and holstering his rifle. "I think... I took the re-entry a bit roughly though..."

"Sydney... any idea where Commander Shepard is?" I asked, noticing a similarity in these events.

"_She's at the primary colony transmitter, directly north of your position._" She answered, pausing. "_John and Weigman are on-board._"

"Thanks." I thanked, cutting the line as I signaled everyone to follow me.

We were stopped halfway there as the Collector ship bugged off, blowing huge clouds of dust everywhere, and us off our feet.

"Well... that actually feels better now." Thomas said, standing back up straight.

"Your just going to ignore the Collector ship that took off?" Tali said with a bit of disbelief.

"I never said I was ignoring it." Thomas said, flexing his neck.

When we finally arrived, we found Shepard with Garrus and Mordin, who were working on the transmitter. There were a LOT of Collector corpses scattered around the area, and the Scion they had killed was still disintegrating.

"Hey!" I shouted, waving over at them, getting their attention.

"You three?" A recently scarred Garrus commented, leaning backwards in surprise. "When did all of you get here?"

"Before you did." Thomas answered with a smile. "Its been a while."

"These humans, one quarian... you know them?" Mordin asked very quickly.

"Yeah... the only one I don't know is... Jack?" Garrus asked, pointing at her.

"What's it to you, cragface?" Jack asked with crossed arms.

"Ah... so how have things been going with you, Tali?" Garrus asked, turning from Jack to face her instead. "You and Sean still have a "thing?"

"Thanks a lot." I said, as Shepard stopped to look at us.

"How many of them did you save?" Shepard asked with seriousness prevalent in her voice.

"Not enough." I answered, shaking my head. "We think we managed to save most of them, but almost everyone was gone in administration."

"Damn it." Shepard said, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "Well... at least we did out best."

"What do you mean "your best?" The engineer from the other garage said, running up to us. "Half of the damn colony is on that ship!"

"We managed to save people, which is the least I can say for all the other colonies in the Terminus." Shepard replied to him with an angry scowl. "You should be happy you're here and not on that ship."

"We all did what we could, Shepard." Garrus said, looking hard at her.

"Wait... I know that name." The mechanic said, looking off at where the ship used to be before looking back at us. "Yeah sure, I remember you. Some sort of big Alliance hero."

"Commander Shepard, captain of the Normandy, the first human SPECTRE, savior of the Citadel." Ashley Williams said, walking calmly out from behind several crates. "Your in the presence of a god, Dylan, back from the dead."

"Of all the good people we lost and you get left behind. Figures." Dylan replied bitterly with folded arms. "Screw this, I'm done with you Alliance types."

As Dylan walked away, Ash walked up to Shepard and looked hard at her. She eventually cracked a smile, offering a handshake.

"We thought you were dead, Commander." Ash said with relief in her voice, ash Shepard accepted her handshake. "We all did."

"It's been too long, Ash." Shepard said with a smirk. "How have you been?"

"That's it?" Ash said with surprise creeping into her voice. "You show up after two years, and you act like nothings happened?

"I would have followed you anywhere, Commander, I thought you were gone, I thought..." Ash continued, getting emotional. "You were more than our Commander. Why didn't you try to contact me, why... didn't you let me know you were alive?"

"I was out for two years. You'd moved on with your career and you life, I'd re-open old wounds." Shepard sincerely explained, looking carefully at her.

"I moved on, an yet here you are, pulling me back in." Ash said with sadness, as she stared at the ground. "And now we have reports about you and Cerberus."

"Reports?" Garrus questioned, looking over at Ash. "You mean you already knew?"

"Alliance intel said Cerberus could be behind the missing colonies." Ash explained, looking harder at Shepard. "We were tipped off that this one could be the next to be hit. I went to Anderson, but he wouldn't talk, but there were rumors that you weren't dead. Worse, that you were working for the enemy."

"Our colonies are disappearing, and the Alliance has turned their back on them." Shepard said with certainty. "Cerberus are the only ones willing to do anything about it."

"Bullshit, I know what Cerberus is like." Ash shot back, anger oozing back into her voice. "They talk about putting humans first, but at what cost? I wanted to believe that you were alive, I just... I didn't expect anything like this... you turned your back on everything we've stood for."

"Ash, you know me! You know i'd only do this for the right reason." Shepard reasoned, stepping closer to her. "You saw it yourself, Collectors are targeting HUMAN colonies, and their working with the Reapers."

"I'd like to believe you Shepard, but I don't trust Cerberus." Ash said defiantly, waving one of her hands. "And it worries me that you do. What did they do to you? What if they're behind the missing colonies? What if they're the ones working for the Collectors?"

"Ashley, can't you see what's happened?" Tali reasoned, walking up. "You're so focused on Cerberus that you're ignoring the real threat."

"You're letting how you feel about their history get in the way of the real facts." Shepard added, trying hard to reason with her.

"Or maybe you feel like you owe Cerberus because they saved you." Ash defied, getting a sadder tone. "Maybe it's you. Doesn't matter. I still know where my loyalties lie. I'm an Alliance soldier, it's in my blood.

"I'm going back to the Citadel, I'll let them decide if they believe your story." Ash finished as she started walking away.

"I could use someone like you on my crew, Ash." Shepard offered one more time. "I'll be like old times."

"No, it wouldn't. I'm no fan of aliens, but Cerberus has a history of being extremist. I'll never work for a group like that. Ash said with finality. "So long, Commander. Good luck."

And with that, Ash walked away as Shepard stood there in silence for a few seconds.

"Joker, send the shuttle to pick us up." Shepard said with a neutral tone, as she tapped the communicator on the side of her head. "I'm done with this colony."

All I could think of was how little of a chance Ash was giving her. Things were bad in the game, but here I could feel the tension in the air. Don't get me wrong, I completely agreed with her about Cerberus, but she really was giving Shepard no chance.

Out of instinct, I eventually decided to go after her. Shepard actually looked at me with surprise as I opened the large door and went after her.

"What do you want, Sean?" Ash said with an obvious sadness in her voice.

"It's funny how you see all of us out there supporting her, and you don't even stop to consider if we're helping her and not Cerberus." I said with anger, following her as she walked.

"If you are helping her, then you are helping Cerberus." Ash denied as she kept walking. "I thought you, of all people, would understand."

I don't know why, but something in the back of my brain decided that it has had enough of this. I grabbed Ash by her armor's collar, pushing her into a wall as I could feel the veins inside my neck pulsing.

"Me, and all of my friends have been shot at, chased by, imprisoned by, and TORTURED by those fucking Cerberus bastards over the course of TWO YEARS, and you don't see ME denying Shepard of her former friendships because of that affiliation!" I yelled with a much anger as I could, while Ash looked at me with surprise, and a little bit of fright. "You are an absolute BITCH to think that Shepard has turned on both the Alliance and those around her after everything we went through with Saren!"

With that I let her go, as I walked away in rage.

"Sean..." Ash said very quietly, until she turned to look away after I looked back at her.

She didn't say anything else to me as I called Sydney's shuttle in and I walked back into the main area. By this point, Shepard and her team were already gone, and Sydney was just now pulling up.

"Let's get out of here." I said, quickly jumping onto the shuttle. "I'm sick of everything."

…

**A/N: And that there is the Horizon chapter. I hope it was filled with enough action to keep everyone interested, and that you enjoyed the total outcome.**

**Please remember to fav my story, and to leave a review!**

**This is GIR, signing out!**


	56. Teltin Facility

Sean's POV

Two Hours Later

After flying back to the ship and talking to Shepard about what happened, I promptly threw myself into my room. I literally laid on my bed, staring at my ceiling in thought.

"Sean, are you alright?" Bastila asked, forming on my desktop. "You've been immobile for the last one hour and forty-seven minutes."

"I'm just thinking, Bastila." I said, closing my eyes. "All of this... it's starting to wear on me."

"What exactly do you mean?" Bastila asked, confused.

"Well... perhaps I'm tired of shooting at things, and just want to see my parent's faces again." I said with honesty, as a lone tear made it's way through the corner of my eye, rolling down my face and soaking into the sheets. "That's all I really want to do, and all I've wanted to do these last few years."

"Didn't the Prothean say you would be able to see them again after the Reapers were defeated?" Bastila reasoned, looking at me much harder.

"See, that's not the point!" I said rather loudly, leaning back up to face her. "Maybe I'd like to be able to hang up my weapons and have a normal life with my family and girlfriend. Maybe I'd like to stop getting my life threatened by Cerberus on a regular basis!"

"You know that none of that will be around for you much longer if you fail." Bastila reasoned, grabbing my attention. "For all you and the rest of your friends know, you could be the only key to stopping them."

"Your understanding over everything has improved a lot..." I said with a smile, looking down at my floor.

"I've always had understanding over the facts of our mission, it's just presenting them in... human forms is the challenging part." Bastila explained, giving me a smile.

"Well, you should try out the concept of jokes." I said with another smile, as I stood up and walked out of my room. While walking towards the elevator, it actually occurred to me that I never went to visit Jack since we pick her up.

I punched the elevator in for the Engineering Deck, as it swooped down the shaft. I walked out, going directly down the main hallway.

"Hey Bastila, where is Jack?" I asked, as I neared the Engine Room.

"_She's set herself up around the Drive Core maintenance access way, located below the main room._" She replied. "_Allen is also currently down there with her._"

"Woo boy." I said to myself, as I opened up the door, revealing the souped-up drive core sitting snugly in the back of the large room. Tali was working on the main console, looking focused.

"Hello." I said once I had sneaked up behind her.

"Oh, hello Sean." Tali greeted, being a lot less jumpy than back on the older Normandy. "You know, I CAN hear the big doors on this ship opening an closing, right?"

"I guess my old "tactic" doesn't work as well here, huh?" I said with a wide smile, giving her a quick hug.

"I suppose so... I do miss the old crew, though." Tali said, looking around the nearly vacant engine room. "I miss Adams, and the other people that worked down here."

"Yeah, I do miss having them around." I agreed, looking at the one active service drone that was currently flash-welding around the running engine. "They added a lot of personality to the ship down here."

"Yeah... about that..." Tali said, folding her arms. "The Normandy is a top-of-the-line ship, yet it still needed a full maintenance crew to keep it working correctly. How did a ship of six people working different jobs keep it this well maintained over the last two years with experience in combat?"

"I... um..." I stammered, caught completely off-guard by her question, as she put her hand on my shoulder.

"I know that the new Normandy has an A.I. called EDI built into it, and I also know that you six had several large servers installed on here for a simple V.I." Tali said with a surprising gentleness. "When did you have this A.I. installed, how, and why?"

"OK, I'll tell you, but this stays on this ship, you understand?" I said, mustering up my serious face as I looked hard at her. "Hackett asked us if we'd be willing to test bed an experimental ship A.I., modified with captured Cerberus tech. We agreed, and out friend "Bastila" was installed."

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" She asked, sounding slightly more upset. "I thought we were past these kinds of things!"

"I didn't want to upset you... I feared that... you would go ballistic." I explained truthfully, looking down at the ground.

"Can you be sure it's safe?" Tali asked, leaning forward and looking me directly in the eyes. "How do you know it's not going to turn on us?"

"She's been in this ship for nearly two years, and she's been a valuable ally." I told her, holding onto both of her shoulders. "She's a member of this crew, and a friend. She helped save me and Sydney from Cerberus, that alone is worthy of trust."

"I'll do my best to adjust to... her, but you better be right about this." Tali said, stopping for a second before saying "her". I could tell she was still having a hard time she was now on a ship with an A.I. installed.

"Trust me." I said, giving her another hug. "She's alright."

"OK Sean." Tali said, nodding as I walked off towards the lower deck. I heard Tali call Bastila, as I stepped downstairs.

As soon as I opened the door, I could hear Jack and Allen's voices.

"So what happened next?" Allen asked, sounding amused.

"I smashed the stupid slaver's head to pieces, and stole his ship." Jack replied, looking off to the side as if looking back at it. "To say the least, it was one of the more... interesting things that happened since the hanar space station."

I walked down closer, as they both noticed me.

"Oh hey, you can ask him now, Jack." Allen said to her, as I took a seat on one of the crates. He promptly got up and walked away, leaving the two of us alone.

"So… I never did give you the welcoming meet and greet." I asked, plopping myself onto one of the crates.

"What, we still need to say "hello" to each other after what we've been through already?" Jack said, scrutinizing me with hostile eyes.

"I thought it was only nice to do so." I replied, smiling. "You are a member of my crew, after all."

She didn't say anything as she looked hard at me, like a predator examining another animal out in the wild. She didn't trust me one bit.

"Right, so what are you really here for?" She asked, folding her arms.

"Um… what else would I be here for?" I answered leaning forward. "Perhaps I'd like to hear about you, from you."

"What do you already know about me, hm?" She asked, standing up and walking towards me.

"I know you have committed a lot of crimes…" I said, letting an eyebrow lift as she jumped up on one of the tables. "Murder, kidnapping, vandalism, piracy…

"Speaking of piracy…" She said, examining the guts of the ship. "This thing looked like shit from the outside… but it seems to hold out on the inside."

"Are you implying this would be a good pirate ship?" I said with a smile, standing up.

"You read my mind." She answered, turning to look at me.

"Well, this ship was made to fight Cerberus and the Reapers, not raid space liners." I replied, as she got a disappointed look in her face.

"You really are a pussy, aren't you?" She said, looking at me hard as she got off the table. "Anyways, you did mention you've had some history with Cerberus, right?"

"Ah, now you're getting into a topic both of us can relate to." I said with a big smile. "Hell yes we do."

"I read some of the files that they have on me and… I was wondering if you have any extra time on your hands." She inquired, looking at me with a more calm tone in her eyes.

"Why?" I questioned, now understanding where the conversation had gone.

"Cerberus… they raised me in a research facility on a planet called Teltin." She explained, pacing as she described it. "They tortured and experimented on me my entire childhood, until I finally escaped from them. I want to go there, to my cell, I want to plant a big fucking bomb, and wipe the place off of the map."

"I'll assume this facility isn't still occupied, right?" I said, as she sat back down.

"It was abandoned years ago, everything is gone." Jack said, giving me another look. "Why, I thought you liked killing Cerberus."

"Oh, believe me, I'd help you level the place either way." I said, cracking a smile. "Just give me some coordinates and we can give Allen something to do."

"Hm… maybe you aren't such a pussy after all." Jack said, grabbing a datapad and handing to me, which I accepted. "The coordinates are on there, just… promise me you can do this for me."

"I don't see any reason why we can't spare some time to level something that's troubling you." I said, holding up the datapad. "We'll be there in a few."

Jack silently nodded at me, as I left the room.

…

Several Hours Later

We were zooming through the atmosphere of Pragia, as wind and rain could be heard outside. Jack, of course, was here, staring down at the ground. Allen was here too, carrying one of his... experimental bombs, which he claimed was designed to "level any facility with one small package." This thing looked like the Resonator from Gears Of War, which kind of scared me. Sydney was also along for the ride, and was wearing her full gear.

"We're about one mile away, get ready." Sydney said to all of us in the back. "Get ready to hit the ground."

"I forgot how much I hate this place." Jack said bitterly, as the facility came into view. "See the landing pad? Has to be on the roof, or the vegetation would overgrow it in a few hours."

"_Sean, I'm picking up thermal signatures everywhere, except your landing zone._" Bastila observed through the main channel.

"No, something has to be messing with the sensors." I answered, as I looked out the window at the foliage below.

"This _was_ a Cerberus facility, Sean." Allen offered, looking down with discust at the structures. "Maybe they have some sort of... counter measure."

"Yeah, they built their equipment to last. Assholes." Jack agreed, sounding even more uncomfortable. "It was a mistake coming here, Sean."

"Hey, all we need to do is plant Allen's bomb, and we're done with this place." I reassured, nodding at her.

"Yeah, OK. Let's get on the ground." Jack said, as we slowly landed on the pad. Sydney grabbed here gear and threw it on as the hatch hissed open, revealing a violently drenched, over-grown jungle that just happened to have a decaying Cerberus base in the middle of it.

"Wow, it's like a hurricane out here." Sydney commented, stowing her helmet in the shuttle and putting on an Archon visor.

"Let's just get in there and plant the bomb in my cell." Jack said with more purpose in her voice, as we walked down the catwalk into the facility. "I want to watch this place burn."

Inside, there were holding containers similar to those from Purgatory, along with more cargo containers strewn around. The place was falling apart, with panels leaking water and vines growing up out of the floors.

"I never saw this room." Jack commented, looking around. "I think they brought new kids in these containers. They were messed up and starving, but alive. Usually."

"This is unacceptable." Sydney said with disgust in her voice, looking inside on of the containers. "How can you do such a thing to children?"

We stayed silent as we walked through the door into the next room. There was nothing significant, other than a barely operational hologram projector that was repeating it's last logs over and over again.

"_The Illusive Man requested operations logs again. He's getting suspicious. What if he finds out what were-_" It repeated on a loop, as I shut it off.

"Sounds like they were doing some... unauthorized things here..." Allen quipped, kicking the projector as it broke.

"He didn't say what they were hiding from the Illusive Man." Jack replied, as I pulled open the door to a bigger, more spacious room. There were more large holding containers, as well as an abundance of trees growing directly through the floor.

"I remember escaping from this room, fighting here." Jack said with a softer tone, looking up. "I saw sunlight through the cracks in the ceiling. Only me and a half-dead guard between me and freedom. He was begging for his life."

We walked through the ground level of the room through the containers, eventually running into a few Varren who were sniffing around a few dark stains on the floor. We quickly put them down, walkiing towards a makeshift ring make of concrete dividers.

"Some sort of... arena?" Sydney inquired, looking at a large old bloodstain on the ground.

"That's right, they used to stage fights here." Jack said, looking hard at the stain. "Pit me against other kids. I loved it, only time I ever got out of my cell."

"What the fuck were they studying?" I asked, getting madder as I thought about it.

"Hell if I know. Maybe that's how they got their kicks." Jack answered, looking at me. "I never understood anything that happened here."

"What the hell was wrong with these people..." I asked, looking at the arena again.

"I don't know. Doesn't matter now." Jack said bluntly, as we went up and continued to move farther into the facility.

We walked into a hallway, where there was another projector. Out of curiosity, I switched it on. An image of an older generation Cerberus trooper appeared.

"Security Officer Zemkl, Teltin facility. The subjects are out of their cells! They're tearing the place up!" The officer said with panic evident in his voice. "Subject Zero is going to get loose, I need permission to terminate – I repeat, permission to terminate!"

"All subject besides Jack are expendable. Keep jack alive!" Another voice said.

"Understood, I'll begin the -" The officer started, as Jack killed the recording.

"That's not right, I broke out when my guards disappeared." Jack objected, looking at me. "I started that riot."

"Maybe other things were going on that you missed." I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"The other kids attacked me. The guards attacked me. The automated systems attacked me." Jack said with anger, leaning towards me. "That doesn't leave lots of room for interpretation."

We went through the door down a flight of stairs, only to come across a dead varren currently soaking in a pool of it's own blood.

"This place is supposed to be empty." Jack said with a little distress creeping into her voice. "Who the fuck shot that varren? It's a fresh kill."

"Let me see..." Allen exclaimed, looking carefully at the wounds on it.

"What are you doing?" Sydney asked, looking down at Allen.

"Looking to see if it's modded ammunition..." He replied, lifting up the varren to see the other side of it. "...penetrating explosive rounds... I think we have Blood Pack mercs." 

"Blood pack or not, I'm destroying this place once and for all." Jack said, putting away her rifle and instead talking out a shotgun.

"Alright, expect krogan and vorcha." I ordered, as we moved down another staircase, into yet another empty hallway.

"Allen, how the hell did you figure that out?" Sydney asked as we walked.

"I do a little more than build explosives, you know." He answered, as we opened the door to the next room.

Here was what I think was the morgue, as there were small, too small hatches lining the walls of the room. In the lowered center of the room, there were operating tables that had long worn away, along with some suspiciously new cargo crates.

As soon as we were all on the lower floor, several vorcha popped out of cover, taking aim at us. I quickly drew my 500., putting a round directly into one of the pyro's fuel tanks. The resulting explosion

killed three of the other vorcha around him, as the other five were quickly cut down to size. Jack had the honor of killing the krogan that had been leading them.

"Why did they need a morgue?" Jack asked after things had calmed down. "This was a small facility."

"The poor kids they brought here must have died... frequently." Sydney said with an angry look on her face. "They were part of the experiment at the time too."

"Bullshit. I had the worst of it, and I made it out alive." Jack denied, as Allen and I pulled open the busted door to the next area. Which was beginning to look more "secure" in terms of general design. The catwalk before us was hanging right above the section of the facility where the kept all the kids.

"So strange to be back here." Jack said as we crossed the creaky catwalk into another hallway. "I feel like... I'm pissed off. I'm a dangerous bitch... but then I'm a little girl again. Shit, it's complicated. Let's just go plant that bomb."

We descended another flight of stairs to the holding area, where the kept the kids. Two vorcha popped out of their cover above the second staircase, as I quickly took both of them out with my 500.

"Wow Sean... double tap?" Allen asked humorously, as we walked down the stairs to where the cells were. It was unnerving, seeing these empty, rotting cells in person.

"Those bastards... they kept children here?" I said out loud, peeking my head into one of the cells. Jack was silent as we moved to the end of the room, into the courtyard where her one-way glass window could be seen just above it.

"This... It's a two-way mirror?" Jack questioned, running her hand along the water soaked window. "My cell is on the other side, I could see all the other kids out here. I screamed at them for hours... and they always ignored me."

"Sounds like they were trying to psychologically break you." Sydney examined, looking down into the courtyard.

"Well... they broke something." Jack quipped in a hushed tone, as we reached the other side and went inside once more.

Here, there was something that utterly turned my stomach. There were surgical chairs and tools all over the room, all rusted from years of neglect, but the worst was an open container of... _children, dead children_. The container must have been recently opened, since it seemed only now were the bodies starting to discompose.

I had to yank off my helmet and vomit off to the side, as Allen and Sydney got equally disgusted looks on their faces. The smell was overwhelming, causing me to vomit a second time. Jack was trying her hardest to ignore us, as she turned on one of the consoles in the room.

"Entry 1054, Teltin facility. The latest iteration of PergNim went poorly. Subjects One, Four, and Six died. No biotic change among the survivors." A scientist said, holding a datapad. "We lowered core temperatures of surviving subjects, but no biotically beneficial reaction occurred. As a side effect, all subjects died."

Sydney shook her head as me and Allen pulled together our guts and shut the container. Jack was still listening to the recording.

"So we'll not try that on Zero. I hope our supply of biotic-potential subjects hold up, we are going through them fast." The scientist finished, as jack shut off the console.

"This is bullshit! They weren't experimenting on other children for my safety!" Jack said, looking hard at me.

"They wanted you to be their magnum opus, they wouldn't risk killing you." I said, trying to give her reason.

"You don't get ti, Sean. I survived this place because I was tough than the rest. That's who I am." Jack replied, looking out one of the windows.

"You have to move on, and be better and tougher for it." I said, as she nodded and she turned on the other console.

"It's all fallen to pieces. The subjects are rampaging, and Zero is loose. We're shutting Teltin down. What a disaster." The scientist said, as muffled explosions and shouting could be heard in the background. "We'll infiltrate and piggyback onto the Alliance's Ascension program. Hopefully that will... who are? Zero, wait!"

"Sean, they started up somewhere else!" Jack said with a a worried tone.

"Ascension is an Alliance-based project." Sydney said, stepping over. "It's basically just a school for biotic kids."

"They don't torture children there." I topped off, looking hard as Jack.

"A lot of this... isn't the way I remember it." Jack admitted, shrugging her arms.

"You were a tortured, drugged-up kid." I reasoned, looking her hard in the eyes. "You couldn't have known."

"Maybe." She agreed, looking at the door. "We're getting close to my cell, the place I came from. Let's keep going."

With that, I put my helmet back on and we left the room, entering a much larger area filled with desks and crates. Oh, there was also a massive amount of Blood Pack mercs in the room as well. Their leader tuned to the side, as he hit his communicator.

"Hey Aresh, it's Kureck... yeah, the intruders are here. You want them dead, we have to talk creds." Kureck said, acting as if we weren't even there. "You promised us creds, but this place is a waste."

He paused for a bit and I kept my hand close to my Pulse Rifle, listening to Aresh.

"Fine, we'll put' em down. Then, I'm coming in there, and we're going to talk salvage." He finished, as he finally looked at us.

"You're big, hulking ass is in our way." I said, as he ordered his men on us, and we dove to cover. I moved down the left flank, as I quickly stabbed a vorcha that had rushed past the corner a bit too fast. Allen tossed a grenade at one of the krogans, engulfing him in flames. Sydney was taking potshots at a few vorcha from behind her cover, while Jack biotically ripped one of the other krogan apart.

"_Where did Kureck go?_" I wondered, as a great force smashed into my cover, knocking me off my feet. My Pulse Rifle flew out of my hands, as Kureck grabbed me by the throat. I quickly head-butted him, confusing him long enough that I could charge up my biotics.

I literally deconstructed his hands and upper arms as he screamed in pain, allowing me to fall to the ground. I decided to end his misery, as I charged up my biotics once more and completely disintegrated him.

The fighting was over quickly, as Jack blasted the last vorch's head off with a single shotgun blast.

"Whoa... nice job, Sean." Allen commented, walking over to me. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be alright when every living thing in the galaxy stops trying to kill me with their bare hands." I said, cracking my neck as Jack moved up.

"Only room left is my old cell." She said, walking to the other side of the room with us in tow. "Whoever this Aresh is, he's in there. I wanna plant the bomb in my room, might as well put in on his corpse."

We walked through the small hallway with the large blood splatter on the wall, as we entered Jack cell. Things were noticeably cleaner and organized in here, since someone was, of course, living here.

"Come out, we know you're in here." I said, as a weak looking man came out. He had a tired, broken look in his eyes that told bounds about the hell he had been through.

"My name is Aresh, and your breaking into my home. I know you, Subject Zero." He said with a slow calmness, as Jack aimed her pistol at him. "So many years have passed, and I thought I was the only survivor."

"My name is Jack. How the hell do you know me?" She asked, with a violent look in her eyes.

"We all knew your face, Jack." He said with the same calmness, despite the fact that there was a gun pointed directly at his face. "They inflicted horrors on us so their experiments wouldn't kill you. You were the question, and I'm still looking for the answer."

"He was drawn here, by his past... just like you, Jack." I said to Jack with reason, as I looked at Aresh.

"I tried to forget this. But a place like this... it doesn't forget you. It follows you." Aresh explained, holding out his hands.

"Then why did he hire those mercs if he just wanted to come back here?" Sydney asked, looking hard at him.

"I hired these mercs and came back almost a solar year ago. We're rebuilding it, piece by piece." He explained, sounding almost as if her were in a trance. "I'm going to find out what they knew, how to unlock true biotic potential in humans. I'm restarting the Teltin facility. It will be beautiful."

"I wanted a hole in the ground, he's trying to justify what happened by using it!" Jack said in outrage.

"We're blowing up the place, but that still leaves Aresh." I said, as jack walked towards him. "What do we do with someone that's basically you?"

"That's easy." Jack answered, walking behind him.

"Just leave me here. This is where I belong." Aresh pleaded, as Jack shouted "fuck that!" and brought him to his knees with a biotic blast to the gut.

"Jack, he's trapped in his own past." I bargained, as she aimed her pistol at the back of his head. "You need to move on from your own."

"He wants to restart this place he needs to die!" Jack argued, clinging onto her blood-thirsty attitude.

"He's crazy, and he'll never have the resources to restart a place like this." I said, trying to calm her down. "You have to let it go. Your past doesn't have to affect the present."

Jack looked down at Aresh in thought for a few seconds, before finally making her decision.

"Fuck." She said bluntly, putting down her pistol. "Get out of here. Now."

Aresh scurried out of the room, as Jack holstered her pistol.

"He's not worth chasing." Jack said, shaking her head. "None of it is."

"You did the right thing, Jack." I complemented, as Sydney un-hooked the bomb from Allen's back.

"Maybe." Jack said with doubt, as she looked at her room. "This room was my whole childhood. Give me a minute to look around."

"Sure thing, Jack." I said, as Jack quietly walked around the room and examined artifacts of her past life. Eventually, Jack had enough of it and the bomb was ready to be detonated. We ran back the shuttle and strapped in.

"Here, you deserve the honors." Allen said with a sincere tone, handing Jack the detonator.

"Thanks." She replied, sitting down in the seat across from us.

Sydney took off as fast as she could, as Jack began to open and close the cover repeatably.

After a few seconds of silence, she gave me a worried look as I banged on the door to the cockpit.

Jack hit the detonator, sending the facility up in a cloud of fire and smoke. The shockwave hit us, violently rattling the Kodiak. After it had passed, Jack leaned back and let out a loud sigh, cracking a small smile directed at me.

Jack was on our side, and the rest of us had a new-found hatred for Cerberus. I crossed my arms as I thought back to those bodies in the container...

Very soon, Illusive Man... very soon.

…

**A/N: Thanks for reading my story, everybody! I'd like to thank everyone that's faved and reviewed it, and I hope you'll continue to do so in the future!**

**Soon, we make have troubles on the homefront, and possibly an adventure on Illium! Stay tuned to find out!**

**This is GIR, signing out!**


	57. Treason

Sean's POV

We walked out of the shuttle quietly, as Jack shot me another approving look, nodding her head. I lifted off my helmet, taking in the recycled air.

"Bastila, any new messages?" I asked, wiping back my slicked hair.

"I have been told that Tali'Zorah wishes to speak to you in your quarters." She said, her hologram appearing on one of the pedestals. "She says it's urgent."

I rubbed my head in sudden panic, as I let out a loud sigh. I knew what was coming next, but I wasn't expecting it this quickly. I saw Allen give me an understanding look, as he cracked his knuckles

"Uh… tell her I'll be right there." I said, quickly speed walking out of the hanger and into the elevator. My mind begun to race with ideas, some of which I knew by this point wouldn't be possible.

Tali's father was likely dead right now.

I held back my thoughts and emotions as the elevator reached the Crew Deck. The door slid open, revealing the long hallway. As soon as my door slid open for me, I saw Tali sitting on the edge of my bed, body language quite somber.

"Sean, I'm glad you agreed to see me." She said, moving her hands in discomfort. "I might need your help."

"What happened?" I asked, gently sitting down next to her, rubbing her shoulder.

"I have just received a message from the Mirgrant Fleet. The Admiralty Board has accused me of treason." She answered, grasping my hand and giving it a light squeeze. "I'm scared, Sean."

"Nobody who knows you as well as we do know you'd never do anything to harm your own people, Tali." I said, trying to comfort her.

"I... don't know... they don't lay charges like this unless the evidence seems absolute." She replied, looking out the window. "But thanks, I appreciate your faith in me."

"Is it because you left your team on Haestrom?" I asked, trying to get a grasp on things.

"The mission was already over, and there was nothing left." She quickly explained, standing up and pacing. "Besides, I got official leave to serve on the Endar Spire with you again. I have no idea what their accusing me of, and you'd think I would remember if I'd betrayed the Fleet!"

"So what happens when one of your people are accused of treason?" I asked, already knowing where the conversation was going by this point.

"There's a hearing, with members of the Admiralty Board acting as judges." She answered, walking over to the window and staring out of it. "You already know my father is on the Admiralty Board, meaning he'll have to recuse himself judgment. I can't even imagine what he's thinking right now."

"So I'm guessing the capital punishment is..." I started.

"Exile." Tali finished, looking back at me. "If they convict me, I can never go back."

I stared down at the ground for a bit, as Tali sat back down next to me. I knew what was coming, and I didn't know if I was prepared for it this time.

"Okay." I said, standing up. "Let's go find the flotilla."

"I was going to book passage on another ship. I didn't think there would be time for you to help." Tali said, her voice letting up a slight bit. "Thank you, Sean."

"Come on, you know I'll always help you." I said with sincerity, as I put my arms around her and gave her a big hug, which she returned. "You can tell Sydney their coordinates, and she'll steer us in the right direction."

"Thanks Sean." She said, as she quickly walked out of the room and into the hallway. "The Admirals will be waiting for us."

As the door slid shut as I quickly took off all of my armor and hopped in the shower. I was starting to feel my heart throb, as I started letting my emotions take over. Tears started drifting down my face as I was faced with the fact that I could have at least tried to have saved him.

I felt like a monster.

I eventually calmed down, putting my armor back on just in time for Sydney to announce that we were now in the Vallhallan Threshold, the current location of the Fleet.

"John, Thomas, HK-47, and Tali, meet me on the bridge." I said into the ship's intercom, as I threw my duster on and grabbed my Plasma Cutter, Pulse Rifle and 500. S&W. I walked out of my room, almost directly running into Thomas.

"Sean... did you try anything to try and change you-know-who's fate?" He asked, looking very hard at me.

"No, but I'm really regretting it now." I said, looking at the floor with a worried look on my face. "Do... do you think I could have done anything?"

"I thought we had all agreed to let things run their course." He answered casually, folding his arms and leaning against the wall. "Wasn't that our plan?"

"Dude, this is her father we're talking about here." I said, getting slightly angry as we reached the Command Deck. "Show some sympathy."

We walked onto the bridge, seeing John and Tali were already here. The grayish cloud in the distance eventually turned into a massive fleet of ships of all shapes and sizes. We eventually got within comms distance.

"This is Tali'Zorah vas Neema nar Rayya, requesting permission to dock with the Rayya."

"_Your ship is logged into our database, but we still require your verification._" A ship controller said, as we drifted towards one of the bigger liveships.

"After time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and through shoals of dust, I will return to where I began." Tali answered, pacing back and forth.

"_Permission granted. Welcome home, Tali'Zorah._" The controller replied, as we moved closer to the Rayya.

"We'd like a security and quarantine team to meet us. Our ship is not clean." Tali said, as I scooting in next to her, nodding.

"_Understood. Approach exterior docking cradle 17._" The controller replied, as a docking arm extended out and connected loudly with our ship.

"Well... here we go." I said, patting Tali gently on the shoulder as I put my helmet on, and we entered the airlock. After decon was done with, we walked down the long arm to the other doorway. We were greeted in a similar fashion to that of when we first boarded the Rayya, but this time things were more lax and there was no gun pointing involved.

"Captain Sean, good to see you again." Captain Kar'Danna greeted me, holding out his hand for me to shake, which I promptly accepted. "I wish we could be meeting again under more pleasant circumstances."

"Tali has been a great friend and ally to both us and Commander Shepard." I said causally, as I cracked my neck. "I'm here to return the favor."

"I understand, and I am grateful you could join us once again." Kar'Danna said, nodding as he turned to Tali. "I wish I could do more to help, Tali. The trial requires that I be officially neutral, but... I'm here, if you need to talk. Their charging you with bringing active Geth into the fleet as part of a secret project."

"That's insane! I never brought active Geth aboard, I only sent parts and pieces." Tali objected, shaking her head.

"Maybe you missed something, Tali?" I offered as an explanation, shrugging my shoulders.

"No no, I made sure all the pieces I sent to my father where deactivated and neutralized." Tali said with sternness. "Maybe... no, I'm positive."

"So... what's our next step, Captain?" I asked, looking back to him.

"Technically, I'm under orders to place Tali'Zorah under arrest pending the hearing." Kar'Danna said, looking at all of us. "So, Tali... you're confined to this ship until this trail is over."

"Thank you, Captain." Tali thanked, leaning forward in respect.

"Preparations got underway as soon as you arrived." Kar'Danna said, looking down the hallway. "The hearing will be held in the garden plaza. Good luck."

Kar'Danna and his men stepped out of the way, as I looked back at Tali. She returned my glance with a light nod, as we started walking.

After about five minutes of walking through the twisting and packed hallways, we found the entrance to the Plaza. Shala'Raan was standing there, talking to another quarian as we approached.

"Tali'Zorah vas Endar Spire." Raan greeted, looking at Tali exclusively. "I'm glad you came. I could only delay them for so long."

Tali held out her arms and gave Raan a hug, which she did not return. "Auntie Raan! Sean vas Endar Spire, this is Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay. She's a friend of my father's."

Tali then turned back to Raan, looking at her in thought for a few seconds.

"Wait, Raan, you called me "vas Endar Spire." Tali pointed out, looking hard at her.

"I'm afraid I did, Tali." Raan said, standing stiff as she looked at her. "The Admiralty Board moved to have you tried under that name, given your departure from the Neema."

"I'll go ahead and guess being associated with a ship owned by humans is a bad sign." I said, gaining Raan's attention as Tali stood next to me.

"They stripped me of my ship name. That's a good as declaring me exiled already." Tali said with anger, waving her arm as she looked at me.

"It's not over yet, Tali." Raan said in a hopeful tone. "You still have friends who know you as Tali'Zorah vas Neema... or whatever we must call you legally."

"Why are you being so quiet about everything?" I asked, stepping forward. "Tali deserves to know exactly what happened."

"I normally would tell you, but the other Admirals have forbid it." Raan said, looking down at the ground. "I am very sorry, but the major details will have to wait until after the trial."

"Well, in that case we might as well get started." I said with annoyance at her answer. "Does Tali have a defense councilor, someone who can speak for her side?"

"Indeed she does... Captain Sean." Raan said, nodding at me. "She is part of your crew now, as recognized by quarian law. And remember, an accused is always represented by his or her ship's captain."

Tali and I looked at each other, as Raan finished.

"So, er... you would actually speak for my defense?" Tali said, actually sounding slightly confused and amused at the same time.

"You know I'll do everything I can for you, Tali." I said with sincerity. "I'll make sure you get through this."

"Thank you, Sean." Tali thanked, holding my hand. "I couldn't have asked for a better councilor."

"I'm honored." I said with an unseen smile, as I turned back to Raan.

"Our legal rules are simple." She said, focusing on me. "There are no legal tricks or political loopholes for you to worry about. Present the truth as best you can. It will have to be enough."

"Understood." I said, as I signaled the others to stay back, and the two of us walked into the Plaza. There were dozens of quarians crowded around to watch the hearing, with the Admirals standing on the podium. Things became quiet as Raan took her spot, raised slightly higher than the other admirals.

I already started remembering their names, the psychopath Zen, Mr. Quib-Quib Koris, and the trigger-happy Gerrel. I wasn't looking forward to this any more than Tali was.

"This Conclave is brought to order." Raan said, looking at the crowd as she spoke. "Blessed are the ancestors who kept us alive, sustained us, and enable us to reach this season. Keelah se'lai."

The crowd calmly repeated Keelah se'lai, while the other Admirals and Tali stayed silent.

"The accused, Tali'Zorah vas Endar Spire, has come with her captain to defend herself against the charge of treason." Raan said, causing Tali to shift her footing uncomfortably.

"Objection!" Koris shouted, raising his hand in the air as if he was trying to gain everyone's attention. "A human has no business at a hearing involving such sensitive military matters!"

"Then you shouldn't have allowed her to join my crew, Admiral." I replied, which instantly took all the attention off of him and instead to me.

"Sean is right, Admiral Koris." Raan agreed, looking down on him. "By right as Tali's captain, Sean must stay."

"...Objection withdrawn." Koris bitterly agreed, looking down at the ground.

"Sean vas Endar Spire, your crew member Tali'Zorah stands accused of treason." Raan said, staring directly at me as I felt eyes looking at me from all directions. "Will you speak for her?"

I stepped forward, leaning against the railing as I looked hard into their eyes.

"If it helps Tali, damn right I will." I answered, nodding my head. "But none of you forget that in her heart, she remains Tali'Zorah vas Neema, a proud and loyal member of the Migrant Fleet. I regret that her ship's captain has been barred from speaking at her side today."

"Nobody has been barred from anything!" Koris pipped up, leaning forward as if to intimidate me. "It is a simple-"

"Lie to them is you must, Zaal'Koris, but don't lie to me and expect me to stay silent!" Gerrel finally spoke up, leaning over to Koris. "The human is right!"

"Admirals, please." Raan said, shutting them both up. "Sean's willingness to represent Tali'Zorah in this hearing is appreciated."

Both the admirals shot each other angry looks, and they both regained their posture. I knew what was coming next.

"Tali, you are accused of bringing active geth to the Migrant Fleet." Raan said, as the crowd began to make noises disapprovingly. "What say you?"

"Tali would never threaten the lives of anyone in the Migrant Fleet." I said, regaining their attention. "She pleads not guilty."

"I left parts and tech for teams to pick up. My father ordered me to do so." Tali explained, her voice very confident. "But I would never send active geth to the Fleet. Everything I sent was disabled and harmless!"

"Then explain how the geth seized the lab ship where you father was working!" Koris shouted, as the crowd murmured both in question and surprise.

"What are you talking about?" Tali asked, her voice getting more upset. "What happened?"

"As far as we can tell, Tali... the geth have killed everyone one the Alarei... your father included." Gerrel said, shaking his head as he looked down at the ground.

"What? Oh Keelah..." Tali said, looking down at the ground as the crowd continued to talk amongst one another.

"You sons of bitches!" I heard Thomas shout, who was pointing accusingly at the Admirals from the top of the incline. "You tell her this in the middle of a fucking court hearing?!"

"Captain Sean, please control your crew!" Raan said, as the crowd stopped talking and focused on me.

"Perhaps I won't!" I declined, feeling the full anger of what had just been dropped on Tali. "I fully agree with my own crew when I ask you... what RIGHT do you people think you have, that you can just hold off the knowledge that someone very close to Tali has just died! THEN, you proceed to use it to get a reaction from her in the middle of a court hearing!"

"We weren't trying to-" Gerrel started to say, as I looked directly at him.

"Gerrel, shut the fuck up!" I shouted, getting a few gasps from the audience as the Admiral took a step back. "Tali should have had time to mourn the loss of her father, not have it used as a device to get a reaction out of her!"

"We were never trying to-" Koris began to say, as I give him the same treatment.

"Koris, you bastard, you keep your mouth closed too." I said, prompting another gasp from the crowd. "All you've done this hearing is whine and complain about everything around you, while i've defended a perfectly innocent member of your Fleet!"

Both Gerrel and Koris looked at each other, as Raan finally shouted loud enough to gain our attention back.

"Everyone, please, calm down!" Raan shouted at all of us, mostly at me. "This is not the purpose of the trial!"

I looked down at the ground, knowing I had just been (slightly) unprofessional.

"I... am sorry to both of you for my little...outburst." I said, looking slightly at the ground as I spoke.

"Apology accepted, Captain Sean." Gerrel said, nodding at me. "I can appreciate a ship captain that keeps the emotional well-being of his crew in mind."

"Thank you, Admiral." I said, looking once again at Raan. "But before we deal with this further, we must secure the safety of the Fleet. The Endar Spire stands ready to assist."

"Thank you." Raan said with an appreciating tone. "Quarian strike-teams have attempted to re-take the ship, so far without success."

"Sean we have to take back the Alarei!" Tali said with urgency, which made my heart hurt once more.

"The safest course would be to simply destroy the ship." Koris said, becoming increasingly more mocking. "But if you are looking for an honorable death instead of exile..."

"I'm looking for my father, you bosh'tet!" Tali shouted, pointing at him the same way Thomas did.

"You intend to re-take the Alarei from the geth?" Raan questioned, sounding skeptical. "This proposal is extremely dangerous."

"With your permission, Admirals, yes." I said with reassurance. "The good of the Fleet must come first... and Tali needs to find her father."

"Agreed." Gerrel spoke up, folding his hands behind his back. "And if you die on this worthy mission, Tali, we will see that your name is cleared of all charges, and Captain Sean, you and your remaining crew will receive compensation for your losses."

"...we'll discuss that later..." Koris said under his breath, looking over at Gerrel.

"Then it is decided. You will attempt to re-take the Alarei." Raan said, looking hard at both Tali and I. "You are hereby given leave to depart the Rayya. A shuttle will be waiting for you at the secondary docking hanger."

"Thank you, Admiral." I said, leaning forward in respect.

"Be safe, Tali." Raan said, focusing on her. "This hearing will resume upon your return, or upon determination that you have been killed in action."

Tali looked at me, and I could tell she was sad, but determined to find her father. I nodded off the back, as I walked away, Tali following a few moments later.

"Thank you for agreeing to take back the Alarei, Sean." She thanked, shaking her head. "The admirals sound sure that my father is already dead, but... I don't know. We won't know anything until we get there."

"How are you holding up?" I asked, resting my hand on her shoulder. "They were firing a lot of flak at you, even before telling you about your father."

"I knew this would be bad, but I guess you're never really prepared to be charged with treason." Tali said, trying to control her emotions. "And my father... I don't know. He could still be alive. They don't know for certain that he's-"

I cut her off as I gave her a big hug, which she returned several seconds later. I then placed my hands on her shoulder, leaning by head downwards in understanding.

"...right. We'll find out." Tali agreed, reading my body motions.

"I'll go ahead and guess that you don't want to speak with these assholes right now?" I said, looking at the chatting admirals around the Plaza.

"You've read my mind once again." Tali replied, as we walked past everyone and to the airlock. On the way there, I could hear murmurings about Tali, the admirals, and even me.

"The humans were quite amusing."

"Have you ever seen a combat mech like that before?"

"The human... he frightens me."

"Did you see his arm?"

"Why was the human wearing that coat?"

We eventually reached the quarian marine who was guarding the shuttle.

"Tali'Zorah vas Neema... oh sorry, I mean "vas Endar Spire." He identified Tali, correcting himself.

"No offense taken." Tali said, holding out her hand. "The change in name was not my choice."

"Per Admiral Raan's orders, the shuttle is prepared for you and Captain Sean vas Endar Spire." The guard said, shifting his feet.

"Let's go clear out your ship." I said, taking out my 500. and rotating the chambers.

"Of course, I'll unlock the shuttle now." He replied, tapping in a few commands on his Omni-tool. "Good luck with those geth, Tali'Zorah. Keelah se'lai."

We entered the automated shuttle, as it took off several seconds later.

"Bastila, what can you make of that ship?" I asked, leaning forward in the rickety shuttle.

"_Scans show that it is of standard quarian design, with overlapping hallways and rooms._" She answered. Being heard by everyone.

"Hm... very defensible..." Thomas added, waking out his Black Widow. "I'll have to stay back to use my puppy correctly."

"Understood." I said, as the shuttle could be heard connecting with the side of the Alarei.

We jumped out, already seeing dead quarians who had tried to take the ship back. We moved into a much more open area, where several geth came through the door on the far side of the room. We mowed them down quickly, making sure that they were completely destroyed.

A Hunter that had apparently cloaked before entering the room appeared very close to Tali, where she almost instantly blew it's head off with her shotgun.

"We need to cover more ground to make sure they're all dead." I ordered, as we went through the same doorway they came through. "We'll break off into teams and destroy any geth we come across. HK, you go through Engineering,

"Agreement: It will be done, master." HK agreed, raising his weapon.

"Thomas and Allen, you two go through Residential. Tali, we'll go find your father." I said, pointing to everyone. "We'll meet back up somewhere near the bridge once we're done cleaning house. Keep you're eyes our for anything that can help Tali."

After splitting up, Tali and I happened across a piece of geth software lying on a dis-assembly table in another room.

"These are parts to a geth repair drone, plus a reflex algorythm that I didn't recognize." Tali said, picking up the gun section of the drone. "I got this on Haestrom."

"There was nothing but shooting going on while you were on Haestrom." I said, picking up it's head. "How did you salvage gear in the middle of all that?"

"These suits have more pockets than you'd think. Quarians have learned to salvage whatever we can, whenever we can." Tali said with a small bit of humor. "Within reason. We're not Vorcha. We repair what most people would throw away."

"You think you might have miss-checked something you had sent back to your father?" I asked, putting down the part.

"No, I don't know, Sean. I checked everything I sent here." Tali said, regaining the sense of frustration to her voice. "I passed up great finds because they might be too dangerous, prone to uncontrollable reactivation or self-repair. I don't know which possibility is worse. That I got sloppy and sent something dangerous, or that father did all of this..."

"There's only one way to find out." I said, giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder, as we left the room.

We walked into a larger room, where all the air was immediately sucked out from behind us. Our grav boots activated after detecting the drop in pressure, as the door shut. There were geth parts and more dead quarians suspended around the room, and a good chunk of said room was damaged in what looked like a larger explosion, walls scorched and ripped apart, exposing the vacuum of space.

I didn't have much more time to examine the scenery as a whole fire team of geth swarmed into the room.

Me and Tali took cover behind one of the intact counters, as she immediately took down the shields of a Rocket Trooper. I popped out of cover with my 500., blowing a round directly through it's "eye". The two of us then quickly cut them down with our respective weapons, knowing they were dead once they had floated away.

"You good?" I asked in the comm, as we both quickly moved through the compromised room and into yet another hallway. This one had a more office-like setup, with one console that was still active.

"It looks like someone managed to leave a message." Tali said, playing the recording. An image of a female quarian researcher appeared, moving frantically.

"We locked down navigation, and the weapons are offline. Our mistake won't endanger the fleet." She said, looking off to the side as a welding torch could be heard in the background. "They're burning through the door, I don't have much time. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Jona, if you get this, be strong for Daddy. Mommy loves you very much!"

She was then horribly cut down by several geth that had finally breach the room, as the recording went dead.

"Oh Keelah..." Tali said, looking at the bullet-ridden body by the console.

"Whatever they were doing here they all agreed on." I said, shaking my head. "You're father must have known about whatever was going on."

"I... I don't know what to think." Tali said, taking her shotgun back out. "First the trial, then this... whatever happened here was a grave mistake."

We then entered a larger, more open room that appeared to be a junction point between the other decks. Across from us was the entrance to the bridge, where a whole squad of geth was coming out to say hello to us with bullets.

I quickly charged my biotics, disintegrating the Juggernaut before it became a problem. Tali took potshots with her pistol, as assistance arrived. Thomas and John emerged from the lower deck, firing their weapons as they climbed the stairs.

"Suppressing fire!" I shouted, taking out my Pulse Rifle and keeping the geth in cover, as John threw another one of Allen's "experimental" devices at the remaining geth. The small "emp grenade" exploded in a bright flash of concentrated electrical energy, frying all but one of the geth. Thomas finished off the last one with a single shot to the flashlight with his Black Widow.

"You guys run into any trouble?" I asked, walking down the stairs.

"Yeah, the geth didn't like us putting our noses into the belly of the ship." John said, holstering his rifle. "We set them straight."

"Any survivors?" I asked, as they simply put on forlorn looks in response. "Understood."

"Where's HK?" Thomas asked, as a rusty red mech jumped over a railing above us.

"Statement: The synthetics were no match for my Assassination Protocol, master." HK said, splattered with their organic "blood" crap.

"Beyond these doors is the bridge." Tali said, taking out her shotgun. "We should be able to disable any remaining geth on the ship from there."

As she walked towards that door, I almost had the urge to shout "don't", but the look Thomas was currently shooting me kept my mouth glued shut as Tali opened the doors.

And to my great surprise, the body of Rael'Zorah was not there.

…

**A/N: This was a doozy of a chapter to write, considering how much checking back I had to do info wise and the fact that I started new classes this week. Whew.**

**I've been thinking about things, and I decided that not everything will be the same. I've already hinted "several" things over the past few chapters, but I'll be taking turns that will hopefully surprise you.**

**Please remember to review and fav my story, peoples! This is GIR, signing off!**


	58. Rael'Zorah

Thomas and I both looked at each other in the same kind of unbelieving confusion. Where was Rael'Zorah's body?

To negate the risk of looking suspicious, we all continued to the bridge as if nothing had happened. Tali opened the doors, revealing a Geth Prime, flanked by about six smaller geth. The fight was over surprisingly quickly, as all of us took down the smaller geth, as HK fired a heavier round out of his rifle at the Prime, blowing directly through it's head.

"Here, we should be able to shut down the rest of the geth from here." Tali said, going to work on the console.

"HK, did you run across anything interesting on the way here?" I asked, as Tali typed steadily on the bridge controls.

"Answer: Actually, this unit did." HK said, holstering his odd rifle. "Explanation: While I cleared out my assigned area, I simultaneously sent out burst frequencies in a effort to locate any remaining geth."

"And what did you find?" Thomas said, as Tali paused and looked back at us.

"Answer: There was an inconsistency with the ship's schematics, as I found a small section of dead space closer the the aft section of the ship. There were no detected geth signatures, so I continued on with the main objective." HK thoroughly explained, as Tali stopped working and payed full attention.

"What do you mean by "dead space?" John then asked, looking hard at the droid.

"Continuation: There were three immobile forms in one of the maintenance rooms, matching that of a quarian physical profile, two male, one female." HK explained further, turning around to face the bridge entrance. "There appeared to be very minor movement from their forms, but I otherwise could not detect any heartbeats or any other life signatures."

"Why didn't you open the door and check to see if they were really dead?" I asked, slightly annoyed.

"Opinion: I thought the mission was more important, master." HK answered bluntly, as Tali spoke up.

"It could be possible that my father might be using a medical stasis program..." Tali said, putting her hand to the bottom of her helmet in thought. "Let me finish up with this terminal before we investigate."

"Sure thing, Tali." I said, as we went back to idling.

"I've shut down the geth signal, but it appears someone recently erased the research logs here..." Tali said, rubbing her helmet again. "Let's go see if there's anyone left to give us answers."

"HK, lead us to that room." I ordered, as HK led us quickly to where the "dead space" he detected was. On the way there, we saw the carnage HK had left behind. There were completely destroyed geth lying around all over the place, some with omni-blade punctures going directly through their heads.

"_Sean... you also said that "HK-47"... was sent to you by Hackett, right?_" Tali asked me on a private channel, sounding slightly perplexed.

"Uh... yeah..." I replied on the same channel, slightly ashamed.

"_I trust you enough to know you had a good reason for not telling me this..._" Tali said in a understanding tone.

"Pretty much the same reason why I didn't want to tell you about Bastila." I said, even more ashamed this time around. "I thought you'd freak out."

"_With Bastila... at least she's loyal to all of you_." Tali started, sounding a little annoyed. "_What's keeping this... killing machine loyal to you?_"

"Well, it too has saved our lives before." I stated, as Thomas almost slipped on a puddle of geth "blood" in our path. "A Cerberus agent known as Miranda Lawson tried to capture us on Omega a little over a year ago, and HK saved us right as we about to be carted away."

"_I trust you're decisions Sean, but I still don't like it._" Tali finished, as we came up on the door.

"This is the room?" I asked, pointing at the door.

"Answer: Yes. The forms inside have not moved since my last scan." HK answered, looking at the door.

I walked over, banging on the door a few times.

"Hey, we're here to help!" I yelled, hitting the door a few more times. "Open up!"

After waiting for about a minute, I signaled for Thomas and John to pry open the door. As they slid it open, I saw what I had thought to be inside.

Three quarians, one covered in blood, were all laying immobile on the floor.

"Father!" Tali said, running over to one of them. She quickly scanned him, then layed him down. "I was right, he and the others used a suit program to initiate a self-induced coma."

"Can you wake him?" I asked, kneeling down next to her. "We need answers."

"Already on it..." She said, using her omni-tool to wake up both her father and the other two. At first they stayed immobile, but eventually Rael'Zorah came to.

"Is... is that you, Tali?" He asked in a thick accent, rubbing the side of her helmet with his hand.

"Yes father, it's me." Tali said, her calm demeanor breaking as she gave her father a big, long hug. "I thought I had lost you."

"Tali... what happened?" He asked, looking around at me and the others.

"I should be asking you that question." I said, looking hard at Rael. "Admiral, I'm extremely grateful that you are alive, but your daughter is in hot water with the rest of the Admirals. We need to know what happened here."

"Sean, right?" Rael asked, trying to stand up as he looked back to Tali. "Tail... what are they doing here?"

"You mean you didn't know?" Tali said in surprise. "Sean and his friends rescued and Kal'Reegar me on Haestrom."

"I've been so involved in..." Rael started, before stopping himself. "...fleet matters that I didn't notice. I'm sorry."

"Rael, with all due respect, we need to know what happened here." I re-focused, putting away my rifle. "Please... tell us what happened here."

"I... I can't..." Rael said, sliding back down the wall.

"Father..." Tali said gently, putting her hand on her dad's shoulder. "Please..."

Rael looked hard at the ground, debating what to tell her. After about a minute, he finally looked back up.

"We bypassed safety protocols... we linked all the geth we had re-built back together in an attempt to control them... we couldn't, and they killed everyone except us." Rael said slowly with shame heavy in his voice. "Tali, I am so sorry for what I have done."

Tali stood up, walking out of the room and past Thomas.

"Rael... after you lost control of the geth, Tali was summoned back to the Fleet and charged with treason." I said, kneeling back down next to him. "I had to defend her, and we barely managed to get passage to come here."

"They'll have to exile me from the Fleet." Rael asnwered, curling his legs up to his chest. "That's the only way."

"That's not true." I replied. "The rest of the Board doesn't need to know what really happened here."

As I finished my statement, the other two quarian survivors started to stir.

"Think it over, I'll be back in a minute." I said, standing back up and leaving the room after Tali. I caught up with her, leaning against the bulkhead. "Tali... are you alright?"

"No I'm not alright!" Tali said through tears, flipping around to face me. "Sean, do you realize what my father has done? He's committed one of the worst crimes in our fleet's history! They'll remove his name from the record of every ship he's served on, they'll make up stories about him!"

"Tali, listen to me..." I said, holding on to her. "They don't need to know the truth. The Admiralty Board doesn't need to know what really transpired here. We can save your father's name."

"I don't even want to be related to him right now." Tali said in disgust, shaking her head. "He may be my father, but he doesn't deserve to be alive after what happened. He's a monster."

"Tali... I never meant for any of this to happen." Rael said from behind us, who had managed to walk over. "I... I wanted to build you a house on the homeworld..."

"Is the homeworld really worth all the lives you sacrificed here?" Tali said with more anger, as small wet droplets could be seen on her faceplate. She couldn't speak anymore as she walked off once more, leaving me with Rael'Zorah.

"Sean... I apologize for what I said to you two years ago..." Rael said, shaking his head. "You didn't deserve it."

"I appreciate it, Admiral, but I'm not the one you should be apologizing to right now." I said, crossing my arms. "Unless you can think of something to tell the Admirals... the Fleet will know your daughter as the girl with a monster for a father."

"You think I don't know that?" Rael said with frustration, rubbing the bottom of his helmet. "The three of us have already thought of something..."

I looked hard at him, thinking back to his fate. I decided to leave it, going back to the others.

"Oh Keelah, I thought we were dead!" The male quarian, who was covered in blood, said. "Why didn't Fleet Marines rescue us?"

"They didn't have the... equipment to clear the ship." I answered, spinning the 500. on my index finger. "Are you two alright?"

"It was terrible... everyone was screaming..." The female quarian said with a nervous shutter. "If it weren't for Rael'Zorah neither of us would have survived."

"The geth managed to re-activate several of their heavy units we had re-assembled..." The bloodied quarian said, looking at his crimson suit. "... my friend didn't make it."

"Listen, do you two promise to testify for Tali'Zorah?" I asked, leaning in the doorway. "She's facing charges of treason for what you people have done here."

"We've already agreed to follow Rael'Zorah's lead." The female quarian stated, nodding forward. "We just sent viral scavengers into the system to delete any research-related data."

"We're ready to leave as soon as your team is." The male quarian said, rubbing his own shoulder. "I just want to see my son again..."

"We'll be out of here in no time, don't worry." I said, looking over at Rael, who was still pacing on the corridor, then back to them. "Come on."

The walk back to the shuttle was a quiet, and somewhat awkward one. Tali was waiting silently in front of the shuttle as was all approached. We stepped back in, as the surprised pilot swiftly took us back to the Rayya.

"_Sean... I don't know what to think about this._" Tali said, my private comm line switching over. "_My father... I just don't know._"

"Tali, I'm positive that he never meant for any of this to happen." I replied in my calmest tone possible. "You're father was so busy staring out at the goal on the horizon, that he didn't notice the shards of glass in his path. He never meant for you to be involved with this, either."

"_Sean, I wanted to see him alive so badly, but now I'm starting to wish I hadn't._" She said, getting upset once more. "_I'll never be able to forgive him for this._"

"I never said you had to forgive him." I responded with honesty, nodding to her. "If he weren't your father Tali, I honestly think I might have beaten him within an inch of his life by now. It's completely up to you to decide how to treat your father."

She simpily sat there in silence for the remainder of the trip, as we docked with the Rayya and boarded. As soon as the doors slid open I could hear the condescending sound of Koris' voice, proclaiming our supposed deaths. We rushed through then empty hallways back to the Plaza, where everyone was now situated once more.

"Very well." Raan agreed, straightening herself on the platform. "Is the Admiralty Board prepared to render judgment?"

"Hey, sorry that we were late to the party!" I shouted to the crowd, causing every head to turn. Their eyes quickly went from me, to Tail, then to Rael and the other two quarians.

"Rael!" Gerrel greeted happily, stepping down the platform to shake his friend's hand. Small conversations arose in the crowd, as Gerrel got back onto the platform, and the others stared in disbelief. "We thought you were dead!"

"That's what I've been hearing." Rael answered, standing in front of both me and Tali.

"Rael, we were sure that you and everyone on-board the Alarei were dead!" Raan said with a heavy amount of surprise evident in her voice. "Please, if you can tell us what happened, we'll be sure to exonerate all charges against your daughter."

"My daughter had nothing to do with what occurred on the Alarei." Rael said, leading on the railing. "There was a systems power surge that occurred during routine maintenance on the drive core. The geth pieces we had been running test on were "jumpstarted" by this surge, and eventually enough units managed to bypass the firewalls and re-activate themselves."

"So you and these other two all that remain of the Alarei's crew?" Gerrel inquired, looking at the three of them.

"We managed to find an area the geth couldn't scan through." The female quarian said, raising her hand slightly. "We held up there."

"And what of the geth?" Zen asked, looking at them. "Were they all destroyed?"

"We destroyed most of the geth units, and disabled the hub they had set up in the bridge." I answered quickly.

"By most means, the ship is safe." Tali added, nodding towards the admiral. "It sustained some structural damage, but it it otherwise secure."

"That's great news, Tali." Gerrel said, nodding to her and looking at me and my friends. "On behalf of the fleet, I'd like to personally thank you and your captain for your service."

"It's our pleasure, Admiral." I said, nodding back.

"We are sorry to hear of this loss, Rael'Zorah." Zen said, shaking her head. "The death of almost everyone aboard the Alarei sets us back a few months..."

"Hey, I do believe the original purpose of this trial was to prove Tali'Zorah's innocence." I re-focused, looking hard at the Admirals. "Well? Does this finally prove her loyalty?"

The Admirals all looked at each other, then looked back to her.

"Tali'Zorah, In light of these recent developments, we find you not guilty under the charges of treason." Raan said with some satisfaction, looking at her, then to me. "Captain Sean, please accept these gifts in appreciation, for you taking the time to represent one of our people."

She tapped several commands into her omni-tool, as I saw my account load up with a few thousand credits, and something interesting...

"Thank you, Admiral." I thanked, leaning forward. "Hopefully next time we meet you won't use Tali as a tool to further your political gains."

"I will see to that myself." Rael said, turning around and shaking my hand. "Thank you... for everything you've done for my daughter, Sean. I trust you'll keep a good watch over her during your travels.

"Always, sir." I agreed, as I looked back up at Raan.

"This hearing is concluded." Raan announced, looking at everyone. "Go in piece, Tali'Zorah vas Endar Spire. Keelah se'lai."

The entire crowd dispersed as we walked out finding a quiet spot in the hallway.

"I can't believe we pulled that off. What you said..." She said, looking hard into my eyes. "I never thought we'd be able to do it."

"We can go right back in and get you exiled if you want." I said, pointing back at the podium.

"Ha! Thanks, but I'm fine with what I have. Besides, it was always fun watching you shout." She remarked with the first hint of humor I had heard the last two hours.

"Tali about what your father told you, what he committed... you deserve better." I said with all sincerity.

"I've got better, Sean. I've got you." Tali said softly, giving me yet another hug.

"Come on, let's get back to the ship Miss vas Endar Spire." I said with a smile, patting her gently on the shoulder.

"Thank you... Captain." She replied softly, as we all left back to our ship.

…

**A/N: This chapter was a little shorter than the last few, but I felt the end of the mission was a good way to end the chapter. It was hard has hell trying to invent dialogue for a character that barely spoke in the entire game, and I hope I did a good enough job with it.**

**What could Rael'Zorah's survival mean for the future? Only one way to find out. :)**

**Please remember to fav my story and write a review for my story! **

**This is GIR, signing off!**


	59. The Collector Ship

Allen's POV

While waiting for Sean, Thomas and John to solve Tali's troubles, Jack had crawled up from Engineering out of boredom and bluntly challenged me to an arm wrestling competition. I decided to go for it, attracting both Weigman and Sydney who wanted to watch.

"Alright, here's the deal." Weigman laid out, as he and Sydney set up a piece of hardened steel over two saw horses they had set up. "Since I know you both want to, biotics are allowed. Don't over-do it, we had enough trouble putting this ship together last time. We all agree?"

"Deal." Jack and I both answered, as the contest begun.

Jack started it off, her hand starting to glow blue as by biotics also kicked in also. Jack started to smile a she started bringing my hand down farther, but I focused harder as I regained my holding.

"What's the matter, strong man?" Jack said with a smile on her face. "Having trouble?"

"Nah, I think I'm doing pretty good, little girl." I answered with an equally evil smile on my face. "Those tattoos only make you look tough for a while."

"I'm hearing big words, but I'm not seeing the result." Jack replied, pumping up the biotics.

"I'm just trying not to hurt you." I said, as I quickly jacked them back up again.

Sydney and Weigman were both watching tentatively, both having placed their bets for who would win.

Eventually, I quickly pumped as much concentration as I could into my arm, as I finally slammed Jack's hand into the plate, knocking the closest saw horse loose and bringing Jack to the ground with it.

"THE SICKEST, WHO? WHO?" I shouted, standing up in triumph as Jack stood back up with a massive frown on her face. Weigman cheered as Sydney was forced to pay up. I looked at the plate, seeing there was a small dent in it from my fist.

"That was impressive, Allen." Sean suddenly said from the hanger entrance, with the other three in tow. "I thought Jack would knock you through the floor."

"I can still do it, if you want me to." Jack replied with another evil grin on her face, as she rubbed her wrist.

"That won't be necessary, but you but you both did pretty good.

"Allen, may I suggest a new strategy?" John said with a smile, leaning against the doorway. "Let the super-biotic win."

"This isn't Star Wars, John." I said with a frown, looking at him. "If it was, we'd have a Death Star by now."

Other than that, things had otherwise been… quiet since Sean, Tali and the others returned from the Rayya. Nobody had said anything to the rest of us after coming back aboard, which I took with both a little bit of respect, and just a bit of anger.

Not at them personally, but not being informed.

"_Attention: We are halfway to our destination._" Bastila's slightly monotonous voice ringed out, as looked back to my computer. There was only so much computer games could do to hold my attention these days, but mindless fun was still fun. It was actually kind of fun thinking that now, considering how much I used to take them seriously two years ago.

It was kind of ironic.

"_Guys, we have a change of plans._" Sean's voice echoed through the ship. "_Everyone get down to the comm room as quickly as possible._"

"Another delay?" I said to myself, throwing on a coat as I walked out my door. I almost immediately ran into John, whose goggle-covered face was splotched in grease. He was actually wearing a mechanic's suit, which was equally dirty.

"Oh, hey dude." He remarked calmly, pulling the goggles over his hair. "Any idea what this is about?"

"You know just as much as I do." I replied dryly, as we both jumped into the elevator. "Hey, what happened out there?"

"Where?" He questioned, unzipping his suit to let in fresh air.

"You know, on the Rayya." I reiterated, leaning against the wall. "You guys didn't explain anything to us after we got back."

"Oh… well Tali didn't get exiled… we found her father and two other survivors locking in a room in one of the lower decks." John explained quickly, rubbing the grease out of his goggles.

"Her father survived?" I said with surprise, suddenly standing straight. "How?"

"I don't know… some sort of "suit stasis program"… you act as if you wanted him to not survive." John said candidly, inspecting his goggles.

"That's because he was meant to die!" I said suddenly, stepping towards him. "It was canon! Don't you understand what this means?"

"Uh… no?" He answered, as the elevator reached our floor.

"Never mind." I said with a huff, as the two of us walked to the comm room. Everyone other than Sydney was already here, since she was busy trying to fix something important on the bridge.

"Alright, what's up, Sean?" John asked, sitting down in one of the operator seats.

"I'll let Shepard tell us." Sean said, as he accepted the call and she appeared.

"Hello everyone, it's good to see you again." Shepard greeted, nodding her head. "I got a message from The Illusive Man … he's telling us that there's a derelict Collector at these coordinates. The Normandy is going there to investigate it and I wanted you to assist us."

"We're perfectly happy to assist, Shepard." Sean replied, nodding back. "What do you know about this… derelict ship?"

"Apparently a passing turian patrol managed to disable it." Shepard answered, crossing her arms. "How they did it, I have no idea, but all power in the ship seems to be gone."

"Are you sure it's not a trap?" Weigman asked, leaning forward in his chair. "This doesn't seem right."

"We don't know for sure, but this is a chance we have to take." Shepard responded with determination. "Get here as soon as you can, then we can go inside."

"Hey, if it all turns to shit, you little girls have me to back you up." Jack declared with another smile, looking back to Shepard.

"That's reassuring." I replied slyly, supporting my head with my arm. "I have to say, I don't like it, but we agreed to help you when we needed it."

"We'll be there soon, Shepard." Sean agreed, as Shepard thanked us and disconnected.

…

The ship lurched violently as we reached our destination. Not that far from us was the familiar shape from Horizon, the Collector ship.

"This is the Endar Spire broadcasting on all channels." Sydney said, looking cautiously at the ship as we neared. "If you can hear us, please respond."

After a few seconds of dead silence, a familiar voice popped up.

"_Hey there, Mortyr!_" Joker replied happily, as his face popped up on the viewing screen. "_Long time so see!_"

"We're The Odd Ones Out now, Joker." Sean replied calmly, smiling. "Anyways, what's the situation?"

"_The commander was just waiting for you guys to arrive._" Joker answered, looking over his seat. "_She'll be going through a hull breach on the other side of the ship. EDI found another closer to you guys, so Shepard figured you could all cover more ground if you took that one._"

"Sounds good." Sean answered, putting on his helmet. "Tell Shepard to have her communicator tuned to the frequency 0.451."

"_Sure thing, Normandy out._" Joker finished, cutting off the transmission. The six of us, me, Sean, Tali, HK, and Jack were going onto that horrifying abomination of a ship, and Sydney would be our chauffeur. Sean and I knew exactly what was going to happen.

"Everyone hooked in?" Sydney asked, as she flipped her visor down over her eyes. "Good."

We calmly drifted out of the Spire, as the Collector ship came bluntly into view. It was an off combination of rock and metal, which for some reason was slightly unnerving for me.

"Unlinking the breach coordinates… now." Sydney said, as we accelerated slightly faster. "Looks like it might be damage from those guns on Horizon."

"It could be, considering how much of a beating it took there." I answered as we got closer. "Heavy rounds… high explosive…"

"Snap out of it, Allen." Sean said, tapping my shoulder. "Is that helmet secured?"

"Of course it is." I said, shooting him a glare. "You honestly think I'm that stupid?"

"No, I'm just looking out for ya." He replied causally, looking at Tali.

We finally entered the breach, as the door opened up, revealing the disturbing insides of the Collector ship. There was an odd liquid dripping down from an exposed pipe, which I made sure to avoid at all cost.

"Shepard, we're inside." Sean announced, taking out his Pulse Rifle. "How are things on your end?"

"_Nothing so far…_" Shepard answered, slightly more quiet than usual. "_We've run across some bodies, it's not good._"

"Roger that, we're going to move in and see what we can find." Sean finished, as he cut the line.

"HK… you let us know if you can detect anything out of the ordinary." I said, bumping the droid on the shoulder.

"Affirmative." HK answered bluntly, as we started moving into the belly of the beast.

There was almost nothing as we moved farther into the ship. We ran across the same pods the Collectors were using on Horizon, but they were all empty.

"So… is this crap is freaky, isn't it?" I asked casually, as my heart started pounding louder. "This ship looks like a bee… or ant hive."

"It sure is creepy…" Jack said sarcastically, looking at me with a smile. "All the little bugs, the cockroaches, the flies, the spiders-"

"Did you say spiders?" Tali suddenly piped up very quietly, as Jack laughed loudly.

"Warning: I have detected organic signatures nearby." HK warned, as we all pulled it together and got alert.

We turned the corner to find dozens of pods with visible human shapes inside them. Most of them were suspended from the ceiling, but a few had been taken off and forced open. There was a frightening large pile of bodies lying in the middle of the room, all devoid of color aside from their armor or clothing.

"My god…" Sean said, holding the tip of his helmet's filters.

"Observation: It appears all of the humans in the pods died when the ship's life support went offline." HK said, staring blankly ahead at the bodies. "They died quickly from suffocation, but were unconscious."

"Well… at least they didn't suffer." I said, walking farther into the room.

"I've seen some crazy shit over the years… but this is just plain fucked up." Jack commented, shaking her head at the sight of the bodies.

"All these people… do you think these were the colonist from Horizon, Sean?" Tali asked, walking carefully past the pile of bodies.

"All I know is that the positioning of these bodies feel wrong…" Sean answered, kneeling down next to the pile. "There's no reason to leave them around like this in a intersection… It's as if they're warning us off."

"You don't think that-" Tali started, as Jack cut us off.

"Hey, if you think this is bad…" She said, as we walked over to where she was.

Jack was looking into the main chamber, where thousands of pods could be seen through the honeycomb of the ship. It was frightening.

"Shepard, you reading me?" Sean asked, tapping the side of his helmet.

"_Yeah, we're here._" She replied calmly. "_Did you see it too?_"

"The giant shaft filled with thousands of stasis pods?" Sean quipped, leaning up to see farther. "Yeah, we might have spotted it while looking for the extranet terminal."

"_Very funny._" Shepard answered back, sounding slightly annoyed. "_EDI says there are two active consoles on opposite sides of the shaft. We're already standing by one, but she says the other on is by you._"

We looked around the opening before spotting the said console, laying in wait for us in the shaft.

"We're on it." Sean answered, as we all ran to the console in question.

"I don't think this is a good idea..." I said in warning, as we contacted Bastila.

"Bastila, you think you can do a data mine on this console?" Sean asked, connecting his omni-tool to the computer.

"_Please wait... accessing..._" She informed us, as a few seconds passed. "_Connection established... data mine in progress..._"

About a minute of silence passed before the platform violently shook, and began to ascend into the chamber. It stopped very suddenly, throwing all of us off-balance.

"What the hell is going on?" Jack shouted, getting back up.

"Proclamation: The ship's power systems are coming back on-line." HK answered, taking out his rifle. "Warning: Incoming power signatures, master."

We looked off in the distance to see three more platforms, chock full of enemies. On the farthest platform were three Scions, which severely hampered my already pissed-off mood.

"Take cover!" Sean shouted, as we claimed what little cover was on the platform. "Bastila, get us out of here!"

"_The ship's systems are attempting to lock me out... please hold on._" Bastila said with neutrality, as the first platform connected.

The first platform was filled with the rank and file collector ground troops, which instantly tried to rush my position. We took all but one of them down fairly quickly, the last one becoming the glowing Harbinger.

"**The remaining Protheans will be destroyed.**" It said in it's menacing voice, as it fired an energy ball at our position, melting the strange metal. I immediately popped out of cover to unload on it with my Spitfire, which quickly overheated, but reduced the puppet to pieces before the fact.

"Come on, Bastila... we need to get out of here." Sean said with a rushed tone, as the second platform connected. This one was no challenge at all, as it was only filled with easily killed husks.

"_75%..._" Bastila replied back, as the third, and worst platform connected. The three Scions instantly fired at once, nearly destroying our cover in one blast. "_Connection interrupted._"

I felt my stomach lurch as the platform suddenly started dropping, still attached to the one with the Scions. All three of them were suddenly thrown off as the platform started spinning, causing us to grab onto what little there was on said platform.

The platform crashed into the rocky terrain, launching all of us off into a hole. We landed, hard, as HK hung onto the ledge.

"Ow…" Sean said, unmoving as he stared upwards. "Is everyone OK?"

"Yeah... sure."

"Ugh… where are we?" Tali asked, getting up on one knee whilst holding her head.

I got up to see we were in another chamber similar to the one with the bodies, but all the doors were closed and there were no pods.

"Bastila… what happened?" I asked, finally getting back onto my feet.

"_Enemy fire damaged the platform controls._" She answered. "_I mined as much information as I could._"

"Well see if you can find us a way out of here." Sean ordered, rolling his left shoulder as he walked towards one of the doors. "The Collectors are going to be here any minute."

"_Accessing… there you go._" Bastila said, as one of the heavy doors slid open. "_I'll plot you a course back to the shuttle._"

"Good, and hurry!" Sean replied, as we all started running as fast as we could through the maze of a ship. We got through a few areas without trouble before one of the doors closed right in front of me.

"Damn it!" I shouted, as I ran directly into the door.

"Bastila, the Collectors are trying to cut us off." Sean said quickly, looking around erratically.

"_Plotting a new route… there._" She responded, as an adjacent door opened up.

We continued to run as fast as we could through the ship, when we finally ran into Collector troops lying in wait for us.

"Take these bastards out!" Jack shouted, launching a shockwave towards a cluster of the bugs.

Tali charged forward, taking cover behind a metal crate, as another Harbinger appeared on top of one of the platforms.

"**This is what you face.**" It said, as it used another fireball to incinerate the crate Tali was using for refuge. Tali was left completely exposed by surprise, as the other Collectors flanking Harbinger took aim at her.

"Tali, NO!" I heard Sean shout in bloody horror, as a sudden, bright flash of light appeared. It was so strong, that it temporarily blinded me and Jack for a few seconds.

When Jack and I got back up and regained our vision, we were the witness to something I had never seen before.

Tali was lying in a completely unscathed, perfect circle, while the rest of the area where the Collectors had been was completely incinerated. It was if the atom bomb from Hiroshima had gone off, as the etched patterns of the Collector forms were clearly seen on the ash-covered walls.

Sean was lying on the ground, unmoving, which the sight of immediately jumped me into action.

"Sean! Sean!" I shouted, shaking him to see if he would reply. None came. I started to panic.

"What the hell was that?" Jack shouted, following me while keeping an eye out.

"Tali, are you OK?" I shouted, as she carefully stood up.

"I-I think so." She answered in shock, picking her charred shotgun off the ground and running over. "Is Sean OK?"

"He's unconscious." I said, scanning him with my omni-tool and hauling him over my shoulder. "Come on, we need to get out of here before more Collectors arrive."

"Caution: The area has become slightly radioactive, please move quickly." HK warned, as we ran.

I plucked Sean's 500. out of his coat pocket with my free hand, as we continued to make our way through the ship. We were nearly ambushed by another group of Collectors on the way to the shuttle, but Jack simply pulverized them. We eventually made it to the shuttle, where Sydney had been holding off a few Collectors with the spare assault rifle she kept inside.

"What in the world is going on in there?" She asked as we quickly got inside. "First the ship starts coming back online, then there was a spike in radiation."

"We'll explain later." I said quickly, hooking Sean into the jump seat as we all did the same. "We need to get out of here before this ship reduces our ride to a smoldering wreck.

The ride out was bumpy, as Sydney quickly explained our exfil situation to Weigman while gunning the shuttle out of the ship. We almost slammed into the hanger floor as we got inside, and the doors shut. Just a second afterwards, the ship shuttered loudly as we left the system.

"We're clear of the Collector ship." Weigman announced over the intercom. "Is everyone alright?"

"For the most part..." I answered quickly, my lungs hurting.

I clenched my chest as I allowed my breathing to calm down. Everyone else was doing the same except for Sydney, who was hanging in the doorway.

"OK... let's get Sean to the Med Bay." I said calmly, as me and Sydney took him by each arm and carefully took him there.

When we had arrived, we laid him down on one of the beds, where we scanned his vitals again.

"He's completely knocked out." Sydney said, taking off his helmet and placing it on the table. "I'm also detecting low levels of residual radiation on his coat and armor."

"It's not lethal, is it?" I asked, looking hard at him.

"No, this is very minor." Sydney said, opening one of his eyelids to check if his eyes were dilating. She was silent for a bit, as I placed Sean's 500. on the table. "Oh my god."

"What?" I said, looking at her, then to Sean. I saw what had interested her.

Sean's pupils were glowing.

…

**A/N: This chapter was a little short, but I thought I established a few good things here. First off, I think my combat writing is starting to improve, and two, a new stage in Sean's "evolution" is beginning.**

**I decided to do this chapter from Allen's point of view because I felt that I was giving Sean too much attention the last few chapters. I wanted to even things out.**

**I've been so bogged down with work and school that it's sucking all the energy out of me, writing wise. It may be a while before you guys get another chapter.**

**This is GIR, signing off.**


	60. Thane Krios

Weigman's POV

We spent about an hour going over our current situation, which was to say the least, strange and confusing. Sean was in some sort of coma, has glowing pupils, and had somehow created an equivalent to a small atomic blast with his mind. To say the least is putting it very lightly.

"Do you know if he's going to wake up?" John asked with his arms folded, as he sat straight in one of the briefing room chairs.

"According to Sydney, his brainwaves are off the charts." Allen explained, leaning on the table. "We honestly have no idea."

"Are you completely sure that's what really happened?" I asked, still finding what I heard hard to believe.

"Oh, it happened, even though I have no fucking idea how it happened." Jack added, leaning against the wall. "That flash of light nearly blinded me and the ginger here."

"Anyways…" Allen said, shooting Jack a small annoyed look. "Shepard is expecting our report soon… what are we going to tell her?"

"Why don't we just tell her exactly what happened?" Thomas suggested, propping his legs onto the table's edge. "Why would we need to be secretive about it?"

"I'm kind of… afraid, of how Shepard will take this." Allen admitted, rubbing his chin. "Plus, with Cerberus monitoring all the communications, they might start attacking us without warning again if they hear that our leader is capable of conceiving small nuclear explosions…"

"Good point." Thomas said, leaning back in his chair. "Well… we can just tell her that Sean was injured, and send her the relevant data we collected."

"Speaking of which." Allen said, looking at the center of the table. "Bastila, what kind of data did you recover from that ship?"

"There wasn't much." She answered, her avatar appearing in the middle of the table. "Most of the data is still encrypted, and the only thing of use that I've been able to recover so far is a strange chemical formula."

"What kind of formula?" I asked, leaning forward.

"It is some sort of… viscous liquid that from what I can tell, it breaks down organic forms into a sort of DNA "paste"." She explained, looking confused. "What the purpose of such a liquid would be, I have no idea."

"Well, you did your best." I said, nodding at her. "Let's just tell Shepard that Sean was hurt during the fighting, and that we're heading to Illium. Then you just attach all the additional information."

"Sure, sure." Allen agreed with an exhausted expression on his face. "I'll send it, and then I'll get some sleep…"

After the meeting had broken up, I decided to go pay Sean a visit since Thomas had offered to relieve me of the pilot's seat. I walked down the hallway, my mind completely confused.

"_How much weirder is this going to get before this is all over…_" I thought, opening the door to the med bay. I saw Sydney sitting at her console, typing furiously.

"The meeting is over, just so you know." I said casually, leaning on the glowing counter.

"Quiet." Sydney said in a hushed tone, pointing over at the darkened end of the med bay, where Tali was lying peacefully against the bed Sean was resting on.

"Oh, sorry." I said in the same tone as her, walking quietly past her and towards Sean.

I had to appreciate how much the two of them cared for each other. It sounded like a near disaster from the way Allen and Jack described it, and it could still turn out to be one if Sean didn't wake up soon. It was true that his pupils were glowing, since I could creepily see them glowing through his eyelids.

I took a seat opposite to Tali, leaning against Sean's bed in thought.

"He's like this because of me." Tali said with sadness in her voice, startling me. "If I hadn't been stupid and charged ahead like that, he never would have ended up like this."

"Tali, you can't blame yourself." I said with sincerity in my voice. "Nobody even knew anything was alive on that ship."

"It was still my fault." She said, getting slightly more upset. "I was the one who got myself exposed like that."

"Listen... Sean will be fine." I reassured, looking hard at her.

Tali didn't reply as I calmly left the med bay to leave her alone. I figured it was what she needed.

…

Allen's POV

My spitfire clanked against the floor loudly as I lazily detached my chest and backplate, letting them fall. I didn't understand why, but I had become steadily more exhausted for the last hour. I just wanted to sleep...

I hit my bed like a sack of potatoes, falling asleep before the thought of finishing with my armor even crossed my mind.

When I came to, I was in _that place _again, wearing pure white clothes and standing on nothing. It still weirded me out a little.

"Allen, It is good that you finally decided to join me." The Prothean said, causing me to turn around to face him.

"Were you the reason why I was so damn sleepy?" I asked, rubbing my neck.

"Yes, and we do apologize." He confirmed, nodding his head.

"What do you mean... we?" I asked, catching what he said.

The Prothean looked off to the side for a second, before looking back to me and stepping forward.

"You are aware of what happened on-board the Collector vessel, correct?" He asked, scrutinizing me.

"Not really." I said, shrugging. "All I know is that there was a bright flash of light, then every Collector that was in our path was burned to ashes."

"Exactly." He agreed, as an mental projection of Sean, lying on his medical bed appeared next to us. "We're not quite sure exactly how it happened, but your leader somehow broke through our mental barriers before we had properly conditioned his body."

"Wait... what?" I said, scratching my head as I stood next to Sean's prone form.

"What I am saying is, your leader used an advanced ability we hadn't taught him, or any of you yet." He said, as the scene became a distorted version of the very same room from the Collector ship. Sean held out his hand, as the scene slowed down and a small orb of light appeared.

"What he did was he created a miniature sun for a fraction of a second, while simultaneously creating a protective field over you and your other comrades." He said, walking over and looking at the small little orb. "He wasn't meant to be able to do anything like that yet."

"So are you saying this... damaged Sean?" I asked, looking at him with his hand still outstretched.

"Since he had yet to adjust to such a powerful ability, it placed a massive about of stress on both his physical and mental faculties." He explained, as an image of a human brain floated between us. "The brain, essentially being a massive muscle, has been severely strained, and as a result, your friend is in a coma."

"Oh god... this isn't permanent, is it?" I asked, realizing how serious things had just become.

"It isn't permanent, but it will take some time before he will regain consciousness." He said, as Sean on the bed appeared again. "It could take a few hours, or a few days."

"This is really bad..." I replied, running my hands through my hair.

"Until then... you'll have to continue your missions without him." The Prothean finished, as the scenery when completely back to bright white. "There is currently no other way around it."

"He did all of this to save Tali…" I recalled, rubbing my chin, as I looked down at the ground.

"The quarian engineer?" The Prothean said with a quizzical look in his eyes. "Interesting…"

"Why is that?" I asked, catching his off-hand comment.

"It is of no concern at the moment." He dismissed, shaking his head as his looked hard into the distance. "Until Sean is fit to be in a combat situation, your team will have to complete the missions without him."

"Sure thing…" I said with a hint of annoyance, looking hard in the same direction as him. "We'll get it done."

Before I knew it, I was awake, lying face-first in a small pool of my own drool. I quickly wiped it off, adjusting myself calmly on the side of the bed. Thinking back to what the Prothean had told me, I just now realized how much more we had to deal with now that Sean was going to be out of the game for a while.

Sean technically was the one in charge of our negotiations, meaning just TALKING to people would be difficult, at least for me.

"_Hey, are you alright down there?_" I heard Sydney ask through the intercom. "_I've buzzed you at least five times now._"

"Oh sorry, I was just... talking with one of our old friends." I said, rubbing my forehead.

"_Well, stop talking, we'll be in orbit of Illium in about five minutes._" She informed me, as the line went dead.

I quietly put my armor back on, which wasn't too hard considering half of it was still on. I rolled my shoulders around, getting adjusted to the heavy shoulder plates as I armed up and left the Barracks. After a short elevator ride, I arrived to the bridge to see Thomas and Weigman standing there, watching Illium steadily become larger and larger as we approached it.

"Nice of you to join us, Allen." Weigman said with a snarky tone, leaning on one of the defunct bridge consoles. "How was your nap?"

"Informative." I said matter-of-factly, as we closed in on the planet. "Come on, let's focus on what we need to do here."

The rest of the ride down was relatively quiet aside from Sydney confirming our entrance to the spaceport. We docked, checking in with Tali before we got off the ship. She opted to stay behind to watch Sean while we were off the ship. Jack was given "authorization" to do whatever she wanted, as long as it didn't threaten the group or the ship. She called me a "pussy."

The dock hadn't changed much since we were last here and made the Spire into what it was now, but it has seen several improvements. There were now large info screens lining the walls displaying stocks, which I had to assume Sean's uncle had some involvement in, most likely. What's-her-face, that dock administration woman was coming to greet us once again, but this time without the LOKI mechs flanking her.

"Welcome back to Nos Astra, " She greeted with a wide smile, looking at her datapad as it suddenly started beeping. "Oh… it appears Liara T'Soni has paid your docking fees for you."

"Thank you." I said, rolling my neck. "Where can we find Liara?"

"He office overlooks the trading floor, just on the other side if immigration." She said, looking back through the orange splashed doorway. "If you wish to make an appointment, speak to her secretary."

"We'll do that, thank you very much." Weigman said, as she walked back from where she came from. "We should go see our little "benefactor."

"Oh, that's right; you still haven't met Liara, have you?" I said, looking back at him, Sydney, and John. "You're in for a surprise."

We walked through the sun bathed corridor to the wide open trade floor, which was much bigger and packed full of prying eyes. Liara's office could still be clearly seen leaning into the skyline, directly above the junction point between the elevator and the hallway leading to Eternity.

We made our way past several angry salarians who had lost a chunk of money just a few minutes ago, as we walked up the stairway.

"Oh, are you the humans that Liara was expecting?" The secretary asked, looking at us with a cautious look in her eyes.

"That's us." John answered, walking up to the top.

"I'll let you in now." She said with a smile, as the door slid open, revealing Liara, who was sitting calmly at her desk waiting for us.

"Ah... hello." Liara said, looking up from her console. "It's been a while, hasn't it, Allen?"

"It's good to see you." I answered, giving her a quick hug. "Thomas, I'm sure you remember."

"I still remember when he used to wear glasses." Liara said with a small smirk, as she shook his hand.

"Yeah..." Thomas replied, crossing his arms and looking down at the floor in embarrassment.

"Now, who you don't know is Weigman, Sydney, and John." I said, as Thomas stepped out of the way.

"I have a... basic knowledge." She replied, shaking all of their hands. "Neither one of you have a completely empty file, and that even goes for your currently absent leader, Sean."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Weigman said, motioning with his hands. "On our last mission, Sean was hurt badly. He'll be bedridden for a while."

"That's a shame. I hope he does recover soon." Liara commented, shaking her head as she took a seat back behind her desk. "Anyways, I assume you are here to ask about Thane Krios and the asari Justicar, Samara."

"Wait... how did you know that?" John asked, casually pointing at her.

"I am a very good information broker, John." She said with a slight nod and smile. "I was informed of your arrival the moment you entered the vicinity of Illium."

"That's a bit weird." John replied, rubbing his shoulder.

"Yeah, thanks for paying our docking fee, by the way." I said, bringing back the attention.

"Your welcome, Allen." Liara returned with a smile, going back to her console. "So, do you want the dossiers on both of them, or just one?"

"We'll be going after both of them." I said calmly, as she took out an OSD and handed it to me.

"The information is on this OSD." She said, as I accepted it. "I've recently learned that Thane Krios will be attacking Dantius Towers sometime this evening. "

"We'll be there." I said with confidence.

"Be careful, Nasanna Dantius has hired a whole garrison of Eclipse mercenaries to guard her and the towers. Be prepared for heavy fighting." Liara warned, looking at me, then at everyone else.

"We're always prepared for the worst." Weigman said with vigor, taking out his sword and extending it.

"Your companions certainly don't lack in personality, Allen." Liara said to me with a smile, as she took a seat behind her desk again.

"Always." I finished with a smile, looking back at the door. "Hey guys, mind waiting outside for a bit? I need to tell Liara something."

"Sure thing." Thomas agreed, as the four of them walked out and closed the door behind them.

"What's wrong, Allen?" Liara asked with curiosity.

"Well, since you know so much about us, why don't you take what you have on us and add it to the OSD?" I asked, slipping it back onto her desk. "In exchange, I'll tell you who the mole is leaking your information to the Shadow Broker."

"Wait, what?" She said in surprise, grabbing the OSD? "How did you-"

"We have our ways as well, Liara." I said with a wink, as she give me a curious look and found the files on the team, downloading them then handing the OSD back to me. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." She replied with the same look. "So, who is the individual leaking my information?"

"It's your receptionist, outside." I said quietly, leaning towards her.

"Are you certain?" She asked with caution in her voice, looking past me at the door.

"I am."

"I'll need to double check before doing anything else, but thank you Allen." She thanked, nodding at me.

"Anytime." I replied with a smirk, as I left the room and joined back up with my friends.

We were going to cause hell tonight.

…

Weigman's POV

After we had gone over the details, we met up with the former security officer for Nassana herself. She directed up to the towers in the distance, and gave us coordinates for a safe place to land. At least she was honest enough with the intel, even if I didn't want to trust her.

Thomas, Jack, and Allen were along for the mission, Jack especially eager to crush some skulls. HK was coming along with us too, and was hopefully going to shadow Thane while we took care of the Eclipse mercenaries.

"You all ready down there?" Sydney asked, her GUI interface already open on her helmet.

"Yeah, we need to catch Thane before he finishes his hit on that bitch Nassana." Allen answered, hefting his Spitfire as the hatch closed. "Let's get going."

"What's with all the hostility towards this woman?" Weigman asked, flipping his hood down. "You seem to be throwing a lot of words at her."

"Back when we were still working directly with Shepard, she tricked us into killing her sister to cover her own skin." Thomas explained, leaning forward with both hands folded. "She's just getting what karma is sending her way."

The rest of the ride was relatively quiet as we approached the unfinished second tower, docking at one of the lower levels so we wouldn't attract hostile attention too quickly.

"The rules of engagement are kill anyone wearing yellow armor, and any hostile mechanized units." Allen said with a small smile, as his Geth Spitfire extended itself farther.

"Now that is both music to my ears, and easy to follow." Jack said with a sadistic smile, taking out her new shotgun. "Good job, ginger."

The hatch opened, revealing one of the unfinished building balconies. There was a thick piece of industrial glass blocking us off from direct access to the inside of the building.

"Come on, everyone pile out." I shouted, as we hit individually hit the ground with a small thud.

"I'll circle around until you take out those anti-aircraft guns!" Sydney shouted from the cockpit. "Until then, you guys are on your own!"

"Understood!" I said, as she closed the hatch and sped off.

Not even five seconds after we had hit the ground, we could see several salarian builders being chased down by FENRIS and LOKI mechs as they attempted to flee the building. One of the salarians were tackled by a FENRIS mech, both getting knocked straight off the ledge into the central shaft.

"Motherfuckers!" Allen shouted, kicking in the window and attracting the attention of a few of the mechs. We quickly ran in, putting them down as we took care of the rest of them.

"Why the hell are these mechs killing unarmed people?" I asked, checking the pulse of one of the unfortunate employees.

"Observation: After looking over multiple reports and news articles relating to Nassana Dantius, I have concluded that the meatbag suffers from paranoia and bipolar disorder." HK said, still clutching his heavy rifle.

"I told you she was a bitch." Allen said as we walked forward. "HK, any ideas where Thane might have gone?"

"Fact: Due to the incomplete structure of this building, the assassin most likely is using either the air ducts to move around." HK said, looking at the ceiling. "I can track him if you would like, master."

"Do it, but stay out of his way." Allen replied, pointing to the ceiling. "We don't need Thane dismembering you."

HK followed his orders, yanking a panel off the air shaft and going inside. We continued walking through the building, not coming across any other salarians. I feared that they could have been the last ones in this part of the building.

After reaching the second floor, we finally ran across several Eclipse mercenaries, who seemed unaware of our presence. They seemed to be busy trying to get one of the side room doors open.

"Alright, let's flank around them." Allen suggested, pointing me and Jack to the left, and himself and Thomas to the right. "Wait for my signal."

Me and Jack moved behind several support beams, getting as close as we could as we waited for Allen. The signal, a characteristic loud explosion, echoed through the room near Allen's side, sending three dismembered mercs flying across the room in a red cloud.

We popped out of our cover, Jack immediately using a Reave to instantly kill an asari wielding a shotgun. The loud ring of Allen's Spitfire was accompanied by the sickening sounds of flesh being ripped apart and people screaming in pain, as a squad of mercs attempted to get into the room from the floor above us. The slaughter was over in less than thirty seconds.

"Looks like these guys weren't prepared for us." Thomas said, his Black Widow barrel still smoking as he kicked a LOKI mech's severed head. "They'll know we're here now."

"Let's get going before they fortify their positions." I said, as we all rushed past the mangled corpses to the next floor. Here, they were now on full alert, and started firing on us the moment we got through the doorway.

Jack quickly blasted away their cover with a Shockwave, as we moved up and took out the stragglers. We quickly took cover as another group of mercenaries poured out of the cargo elevator, flanking out right side. Thomas blasted directly through several of them while they were still grouped up, as me and Allen took care of the stragglers. One merc that had tried to sneak around and get me from behind quickly went down with a single swing of my sword, severing his helmeted head.

After the long fight was over, the cargo elevator had been damaged, and the personnel one has stopped at the most finished top floor. Allen called it in, as the little number started dropping.

"Who else thinks that this elevator isn't going to be empty?" Allen asked as we stood in front of it. We all quickly took cover, as the doors opened and three figures walked out of it, one of them being a krogan wearing heavy armor.

"Come out, runts... I know your in here..." The krogan said in his deep tone. "I can smell you..."

"Smell this." I said in annoyance, as I jumped out of cover, quickly stabbing the krogan in between his armor plates.

Jack and Thomas took out the two mercs flanking him, as the krogan roared in pain. He quickly spun around, trying to punch me in the face as I dislodged my sword from his abdomen. He spewed blood from his wound, yet started charging towards me as if I hadn't done anything. He managed to score a punch directly into my stomach, as I quickly rebounded and plunged the blade into his eye socket. He hit the ground like a pile of bricks, as I quickly took out my rag and wiped off the blade.

"Wow... did you take that one personally, Weig?" Allen asked with a smirk, as we piled into the elevator.

"Nah, just felt like testing the full capabilities of the sword." I answered, stowing the blade. "Why?"

"Oh... nothing." Allen finished with a smile, leaning on the inside of the elevator as the doors closed. "Nothing at all."

After about three minutes in the elevator, it finally stopped at the most complete floor, the doors sliding open to reveal a completely unaware Eclipse merc talking to his client.

"Don't worry about it... we don't need any reinforcements, I'll take care of it." The merc carried on, as we quietly walked behind him. "It's under control, I'll go down there myself."

"Turn around slowly, and you might live." Allen said, as took out his pistol and aimed it directly at his temple.

"Damn it." He said in surprise, standing ramrod stiff.

"Have to seen the assassin?" Allen asked, stepping towards him as he backed up.

"Why are you looking for him? Your not one of Nassana's mercs..." He inquired, leaning slightly to the side. "Who are you?"

"Answer my questions, and we might just let you go." Allen threatened, talking another step towards the hapless merc.

"Look pal, even if I knew where he was I wouldn't tell you." The merc responded with anger in his voice, pointing at Allen.

"We were looking along the lines of actual answers." Allen said, almost pushing him against the glass.

"I've got nothing more to say to you." The merc defended with confidence, crossing his arms. "If you shoot me, my entire team in right through there."

"Well, in that case..." I said quickly walking towards the merc with my now extended sword, raising it to his neck. "How about I slit your throat instead? I'd be a lot more quiet than a gunshot."

"Whoa, whoa!" The merc shouted, raising up his hands in surrender.

"Is a little information really worth choking on your own blood?" Allen asked in a aggressive tone. "Is Nassana?"

"No... I suppose not." The merc gave up, looking down slightly. "Look, last I heard the assassin was down on the mezzanine, but the teams on the bridge think they may have spotted him. No one knows for sure."

"Get out of here." Allen ordered, standing to the side. "If we ever see you again, you won't be so lucky next time."

"I'm going." The merc said with hands raised, walking past all of us and into the elevator.

"We should have killed him... it would have been fun to watch him fly through that window." Jack said with a smile, as we walked down the hallway.

"It wasn't worth it." Allen replied, shaking his head. "Besides, I'm not that sadistically evil."

We opened the door to a much larger area, where several more unaware Eclipse mercs were shouting at each other.

"No, I'm telling you I saw him!" One asari shout to her superior. "He was up in the rafters!"

"And I already told you the bridge team spotted him already." The other merc dejected, as Thomas blew her head open like a watermelon.

The mercs and mechs went down just as easily as the other ones, as we proceeded to a ramp where a communications console was sitting, an angry female voice spouting orders.

"_What's going to down there?_" Nassana shouted in anger in the comm. "_Answer me!_"

"Hold on, I have an idea." Thomas said with a wide grin on his face. "Bastila, can you get me linked into both the Eclipse comm systems and the building's loudspeakers?"

"_Hold on... I am connected._" Bastila confirmed, as the speakers in the building popped. "_What would you like me to do?_"

"I'd like you to play this track in twenty seconds." Thomas said, tapping a few commands into his omni-tool. "Play... this at full volume on the Eclipse channel, and 75% thought the loudspeakers."

"What are you doing?" Allen asked, as we started running up the platform.

"Just doing a little... LRAD." Thomas said with a big smile plastered on is face, as we stopped behind the wall. "Wait for it..."

The eerie quiet of the building was instantly shattered as the loudspeakers began blaring Descent Into Cerberon. I couldn't believe how much of an insane genius Thomas was.

"Oh, come on, Thomas!" I shouted with a smile, running out of my cover and shooting one of the asari who were clutching their heads in pain. "Even I've played Quake 2!"

The only things that even put up a fight on the upper floor from that point were the unaffected LOKI mechs, and one merc that had the bright idea to yank off his helmet to stop the music. Didn't do him much good in the long run.

"Come on, we need to keep moving!" Allen shouted, as we continued through the doorway into the open air. The Eclipse here had finally jammed out our little "transmission" and were unpacking explosives from an air truck.

"Forget the explosives, he's already past us!" One of the Eclipse shouted, as a sharp bang, then a loud one echoed through the air, throwing all the Eclipse in front of us either to bits, or off the building. I tuned around to see Thomas, still looking down the sights.

"Beat you to it." Thomas said with a smirk, looking at Allen with his rifle still raised.

"Whatever, come on." Allen said with a smile, as we continued running. We finally spotted the narrow bridge, with what looked like about twenty mercs on the other side, not counting the mechanized units and anti-air turrets.

"Get to cover!" I shouted, as the first hail of gunfire went out. Me and Allen got to the best cover we could near the base of the bridge, while Jack sat on the other side and Thomas camped out somewhere behind us on a big stack of crates.

"What are we going to do?" Jack shouted, taking potshots with her Carnifex. "My biotics are no good with this much wind and distance!"

"Thomas, take out the anti-aircraft turrets, and anyone you see with a rocket launcher." I said into the comm, as loud cracks suddenly started vibrating through the air. "Sydney, you still there?"

"_Yeah, I've been listening to your comm chatter._" She replied casually. "I_t sounds like you guys finally need my help._"

"Thomas is taking out the anti-air with his Widow." I confirmed, as Allen attempted to put down suppressing fire with his Spitfire. " He's covering your airspace, so do a hit-and-run and knock them out long enough for us to get across. We've got over a dozen guys between us and the other side of that bridge."

"_Sure thing, Weig._" Sydney agreed, as three more loud shots pierced the air. "_I'll assume everything on the other side of that bridge is free game, correct?_"

"As long as you don't actually destroy the bridge, we don't care." I finished, as I looked up to see the last anti-air gun go up in a small explosion. "Your clear, kill them all!"

"_Roger that._" She replied, as a small whining noise could be heard. Like a bolt of lightning, the shuttle flew by, blowing up the enemy positions with superb accuracy. "_You are clear for the moment,get across that bridge before they know what coming._"

"You heard the lady, get your asses across that bridge!" Allen shouted, as the four of us made a bum rush across the bridge. When we had reached the other side, we mostly found broken bodies, and those that had survived weren't in any condition to fight. We simply left them to their fate.

At the top of the stairway, the only person willing to fight was one young andscared asari merc, who fired three rounds at me, harmlessly absorbed by my barriers. I shook my head, walking over to her, yanking the pistol away from her, and smashing it underneath my foot.

"Get out of here." I said, as she instantly nodded in agreement and ran away.

"Nice one, Weigman." Thomas complemented. "They'll be a trail leading all the way back to her house."

"I do my best." I replied, looking at the door she was guarding. "So is our final boss through here?"

"I'm guessing so." Allen said, prematurely cycling his Spitfire's barrels. "Everyone be ready, we don't want to shoot her just yet.

"Why the fuck not?" Jack asked, taking her shotgun back out. "She's already put us through this shit already."

"I want to see what Thane can do." Allen answered with a smile, as he hit the keypad, and the door slid open.

The room was bathed in the orange glow that came from Illium's sunset as Nassana herself could be seen, standing behind her desk. She flipped around to face us as the mercs flanking her drew their guns and aimed at us.

"Wait, I remember you two..." She said in curiosity, rubbing her chin with her free hand. "You two were with Shepard when I gave her that job..."

"Yeah, you're sisters last word were "tell my sister to burn in hell." Allen quoted, folding his arms.

"Charming... funny how you are here to finish the task." She replied in a bitter tone.

"You really are paranoid, aren't you?" I said, drawing my pistol, as everyone else did the same with their respective firearms.

"Don't patronize me." She said in disgust, looking back to the sunset. "I'm sure you find this all very ironic. First you and Shepard take care of my sister, and now you're here to take care of me."

"You don't seriously think we decimated your security forces just to come up here for a chat, do you?" Allen said, arms still crossed.

"Did you and your friends have another reason for destroying my tower?" She asked, running her hand along the base of her window.

"We're just here to find someone." Thomas said, still aiming his rifle.

"You seriously expect me to believe that?" She asked in a more aggravated tone, pacing back and fourth behind her desk. "What is it you want? Credits? Just name your price and we can make this problem go away."

The vents above us shuttered faintly, attracting our eyes to the ceiling.

"All the credits in the world can't make what's coming stop, Nassana." Allen said with a small smirk.

"Who the hell gave you the right to play God?" She asked, as she started pacing even more. "I may not be perfect, but look at you. We both kill people for money. What's the difference?"

"You kill people because you think them to be below you." I said, stepping forward. "We kill people because they leave us no other option."

The banging increased, as one of the mercs flipped around very quickly.

"What?" Nassana asked in annoyance, looking at the asari.

"I heard something." She said, a small hint of fear in her voice.

"Damn it, go check the other entrances." She said pointing to one of the other doors, then turning to us. "You, stay put. When I'm done dealing with this nuisance, you and I are going to-"

She was interrupted as the guy I assumed to be Thane jumped down from one of the vents, quickly snapping a dude's neck, hitting the other guy in the throat and shooting the asari merc. He quickly blocked Nassana's arm as she attempted to aim at him, placing his pistol to her abdomen and firing once. Nassana groaned weakly as she died, Thane folding her hands as he began to start... praying.

"That... was impressive." I said, as he continued to pray over Nassana.

"Um... hi?" Allen greeted, walking forward.

"I apologize." He said, looking back to the body. "Prayers to the wicked must not be forsaken."

"Do you really think she deserves it after everything she's done?" I asked, standing next to Allen.

"Not for her... for me." He answered after a few seconds of silence. "The measure of an individual can be difficult to astern by actions alone. Take you, for instance, all this chaos, destruction."

He walked out from behind the desk, almost standing directly in front to us.

"I was curious to see how far you would go to meet me." He said, looking hard at us. "Well... here I am."

"We were here to speak to you, but how did you know we were here?" Allen asked, looking equally hard back at him.

"Gunfire and explosions. I prefer to work quietly." He answered, walking up and looking at Jack, who still had her gun solidly focused on Thane. "If I have to fight through guards I've made a mistake. I rarely make mistakes."

"Yet, I'm guessing we make the perfect distraction..." I said, crossing my arms.

"Precisely." He agreed, turning to face me.

"Thane, we're here personally on the behalf of Commander Shepard to ask for your help." Allen explained, as Thane tuned to face him. "Have you ever heard of the Collectors?"

"By reputation." He confirmed, walking past us to face the sun again.

"They've been abducting entire human colonies." Thomas added, as he still faced forward. "Freedom's Progress and Horizon are just a few examples."

"I see." He said, looking down and pausing.

"We're going to hit them where they live." Allen finished, getting a serious look in his eyes.

"Attacking the Collectors would require going through the Omega 4 relay." Thane said, looking back over at us. "No ship has ever returned from doing so."

"Shepard aims to be the first." Allen said, taking another step towards him.

"You'd like me to protect humans I've never met, from aliens no one knows anything about, into a place no one's ever returned from?" Thane asked, looking back at the sun.

"That's the basic plan." I replied, looking hard at him.

"...This was to be my last job... I'm dying." Thane said in a grave tone, looking back at the sun. "Low survival odds don't concern me. The abduction of your colonists, does."

"Your sick?" I asked, taking a step forward. "Is there anything our medic can do?"

"Giving me this opportunity is enough. The universe is a dark place, I'm trying to make in brighter before I die." Thane said, tuning to face all of us. "Many innocents died today. I wasn't fast enough and they suffered. I must atone for that."

"I will work for Shepard, no charge." He agreed, shaking my hand, Allen's, and Thomas's. "Although, It would be nice to know the name of her messengers."

"Oh, we're sorry." Allen said, nodding his head. "I'm Allen, this is Weigman, Thomas, and Jack."

"It is good to meet all of you." Thane greeted, nodding.

"Oh wait, I almost forgot." Allen said, walking past Thane. "HK! You can come out now."

HK dropped out of the same vent Thane had come from, actually casting a look of surprise on Thane's face.

"I thought I heard something following me, but I wasn't sure." Thane said, folding his hands behind his back.

HK shattered the calm in the room by putting a round directly into the merc Thane had punched in the throat. Thane didn't move.

"Compliment: You move well, for a meatbag." HK said to Thane, looking down on him, then to me with rifle drawn. "Observation: I trust that we have the meatbag's cooperation, master?"

"Uh... I guess you could say that." I answered, as Allen called for a pickup. "Thane, Shepard will talk to you as soon as she's done her business on the Citadel. You'll stay on our ship until the time comes to take down the Collectors."

"That's fine." He agreed, as we walked out of the room to the war torn terrain outside. "I look forward to working with all of you."

…

**A/N: This chapter, like most of the ones that are this long was a dozy. Luckily, my Keyboarding class offers a lot of time to add to my writings without risk of scrutiny.**

**In other news, the great and talented upshadragoon of deviantART was nice enough to accept a discounted commission for me. Here is the final product of our collaboration. (Search "The Odd Ones Out Colored" on deviantART since is autistic with links.  
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**Like always, please remember to fave and review my story. This is GIR, signing out!**


	61. The Justicar

…

Allen's POV

"Once again, I'm sorry Sean isn't here to greet you." I told Thane, as we walked to the communications room. "He was injured during our last mission, and hasn't regained consciousness yet."

"That's perfectly understandable." He forgave, nodding his head. "Your leader seems to be friends with fairly capable people."

"I'm glad you think that." I replied, as the doors slid open. "Shepard should be waiting for you in the QEC, we'll give you privacy."

"Thank you." He thanked, as the doors slid shut behind him.

"Bastila, you there?" I asked, looking at the holographic track on the ceiling.

"Yes. What is it you require?" She confirmed as she appeared in front of me.

"I need to go check on Sean in the med bay." I told her, pointing down the hallway with my thumb. "When Thane is done talking to Shepard, give him a place to stay near life support since it's dryer down there. Give him a cot, too."

"Absolutely." She agreed, bowing and disappearing.

I walked down the hallway, past Thomas and into the med bay. Just from a glance I knew Sean's condition was getting better. The color was back in his face again, and he moved ever so slightly. Sydney, wearing her white medical coat, was at her console again, looking at some medical scans.

"So… how's he coming along?" I asked, leaning against Sydney's desk.

"I... really don't know." She said, looking over her shoulder at Sean, then back to her computer. "Take a look as these scans I just took of his noggin."

She flipped the screen around so I could get a better view. What I saw was amazing.

"Look at this." She said, pointing out his electrolyte levels. "His body isn't supposed to be capable of producing this many, and it's having no negative effects either."

"Jesus." I said, crossing my arms. "Anything else?"

"None that my instruments can read." She said, flipping through the pages with her hand. "All I've been able to figure out is that the blue "dune glow", as I've decided to call it, isn't actually bio-luminescence."

"What the hell is A "dune glow" supposed to be?" I asked, instantly getting frustrated.

"Ever heard of Dune before?" She inquired, looking back to her computer. "It's a really complex sci-fi book series, where there's this special drug that extends your lifeline and gives you other abilities. If you use the drug often or are born on the planet it comes from, your eyes begin to glow blue."

"I'm guessing that he hasn't been taking this drug, correct?" I say, looking back at him.

"There's really no need to act like a jackass, Allen." She replied with a hint of anger in her voice. "This is serious, and I have no idea if Sean is even blind or not."

"Jeez, sorry." I said, holding my hands up. She shot me a cold stare.

"...If you really want to know that bad, all I've been able to ascertain is that they are emitting very faint levels of biotic energy." She continued, flipping to one of the scans. "I have no idea how it's being emitted from his eyeballs, then again, we aren't exactly fitted with biotic implants, either."

"Yeah, I've noticed." I said, examining the report. "So... what have you heard about him?"

"Who, the assassin?" She asked, looking at the latest report as she spoke. "I heard that he's one of the best trained killers in the galaxy."

"That's all?" I urged, getting comfortable.

"Why do you ask?" She said, giving me the stink eye. "Is there something I should know about him?"

"No... not really." I finished, looking at her computer. "Oh, I almost forgot, have you seen my newest design for the Pulse Rifles?"

"I don't use one... why would I look at them?" She asked, giving me another stink eye.

"I dunno, I was just..." I started to say, looking at the ground before Sydney pushed my head back up with her free finger.

"Hey, numbnuts, you DO know that me and Weigman are together, right?" She asked with an inflamed look in her eyes. "You seriously better not be inching towards what I'm thinking about right now."

"Whoa, calm down there, I didn't mean it like that." I said, holding up my hands. "I'm just trying to make small talk, not hit on you."

"Ok, sorry." She said, looking back to her computer. "Things have just been tense around here."

"It's fine." I eased, looking back at Sean's immobile form on the bed. "I need to go check on our new guest, see you later."

"Bye." She said without looking back at me, as I walked out.

One more person to go… Samara.

…

John's POV

"So, why exactly are we going into the territory of a mercenary group that hates our guts?" I asked, hanging onto the rail above me. In the shuttle with me were Allen, Weigman, and Thomas. Sydney, of course, was our chauffeur.

"We're going into their territory because that's where Samara is." Allen told me, standing up. "We find her, get her to come with us, and leave."

"Convincing a Justicar could prove to be quite the challenge, from what I've read about them." Sydney commented, looking up from her seat.

"Well, if the Justicars really are all about truth and justice, then she should feel compelled to join our cause." Thomas suggested wiliest adjusting his visor.

"I guess we'll see once we're face-to-face with her." Allen finished, as we closed in on her last known location.

"The tracking officer said that she was heading here." Sydney added, as we started to land. "Maybe she might have checked into the Police Station."

"It's a place to start, right?" I gestured, as the hatch opened.

The district wasn't nearly as active as some other parts of Nos Astra. The only major activity I could make out was a police line cordoning off the area north of where we were. There was also a volus flanked by two guards, walking towards a lone ship in the dock. A police officer was hot on his tail.

"Where do you think your going?" The police detective asked, stopping the trio in their tracks.

"I'm taking my goods to Omega, detective." He replied calmly, turning around to face her.

"Your not going anywhere merchant, not until I solve this murder." She said with authority, waving her hand.

"I had nothing to do with that!" He said with another long hiss, pointing at her. "It was those mercenary thugs you can't seem to get rid of."

"The victim was your business partner, and I'm not ruling you out." She said with a stern tone. "I'll let you know when you can leave."

"But what about that Justicar that just showed up?" He asked, shrugging. "Everyone says she might go crazy and start killing... I need to leave."

"She'll only start killing if your unjust, so I'm sure you have nothing to worry about, Pitne For." She said, looking back. "I'll be in the station if you need me."

We silently walked off as Sydney shut the hatch, locking it. We ignored the Pitne For, heading directly to the police station. It was just as dead in here as Thomas and Allen described it, with only a few officers conversing with people off the streets. We found the detective, looking over her reports on her console.

"Nice guns." She said, taking a sip from her coffee mug without taking her eyes off of us. "Try not to use them in my district. What can I do for you?"

"We're looking for an asari warrior called Samara." Allen said, sitting down in the chair across from her.

"If you have a score to settle with Samara, take it somewhere else." The detective warned, shaking her head. "I've got more than enough trouble here already."

"We're here to recruit Samara for a mission involving the disappearing human colonies." Allen explained with a stern face.

"Justicars usually work alone... but they are drawn to impossible causes." The detective remarked with a small hint of respect.

"She'll really be drawn to our mission, in that case." I remarked with a bit of humor.

"If you're getting her out of my district, then I'll get you to her ASAP." She replied, looking back at Allen. "She's at the crime scene."

"You seem pretty eager to get her out of your district..." Allen caught on, giving her a curious look.

"My bosses want me to detain her. They're worried she'll cause some sort of "cross-species incident." She explained, looking hard at her computer. "Her Justicar Code won't let her be taken into custody... If I try it, she'll have to kill me. I have no interest in dying, so if you can lure her away with some "big noble cause" before I have to carry out my orders, I'm thrilled to help you."

"Your bosses are basically ordering you to your death?" Allen said, looking oddly at her. "You have the right not to follow through with it."

"Wait, so your telling me we didn't have to re-enact scenes from "The Raid" last night?" Weigman asked with crossed arms, looking at Allen.

"I could have finished Sniper Elite V2 with the time we spent doing that." Thomas added with one of his rare smiles, looking at Allen as well.

"Oh, you jack-offs are really fucking funny." Allen replied in anger, looking back at them as they fought to keep themselves from laughing. "Real comedic gold."

"As much as I "appreciate" you gesture, I'd like to still be employed by the time this is over." She answered, looking through the window. "The crime scene is just over there. I'll tell the officers over there you can pass. 

"Thank you, detective." Weigman said, as we quietly left the station and made it past the police checkpoint.

We moved through the alley past several containers, almost immediately hearing commotion from the Eclipse concerning Samara. The sounded scared.

"Get the rest of Alpha squad prepped!" One of the asari shouted to her subordinates. "Bravo squad has already moved ahead!"

We quickly took down them and their LOKI mechs, breaking into another area just in time to see a body fly right past us. We all looked up to see one of the asari mercs slowly backing away from another asari, who was pulsating with biotic energy. They talked for a little bit before the other asari, who I assumed to be Samara, threw her through the window into a stack of crates on our platform.

The merc tried desperately to crawl away from the descending Samara, as she walked over and placed her boot onto the merc's neck.

"What was the name of the ship she left on?" She asked calmly, as the merc scratched at her leg.

"Go to hell." The merc replied with finality, as Samara stared at her in silence.

"Find peace in the embrace of the goddess." Samara wished, as she snapped the merc's neck. She fell limp as Samara took notice of us.

"My name is Samara, a servant of the Justicar Code." She greeted us, walking out into the open. "My quarrel is with these Eclipse sisters, yet I see four well-armed people before me. Are we friend, or foe?"

"That was... kind of extreme." Thomas said, looking back at the body. "Was that necessary?"

"If my cause is important enough, yes." She said simply. "Are you different?"

"We kill our enemies, but only if they give us a reason to." Allen answered, looking sternly at her.

"I answer to a code that is clearly defined. If my actions are true to that code, then I am just. If they are not, then I am unjust." Samara explained, looking at each of us. " I do not pretend that it is a simple matter, or that it seems right to everyone. But I sleep well at night, which is more than I can say for most people. How may I be of service to you?"

"We and Commander Shepard are in a slugging match with the Collectors, and she's looking for the best. We hear your one of them." Allen explained simply, crossing his arms. "I'm Allen, and these are my team members. I'm only honorary leader for the moment, our captain, Sean, is in a medical coma as of right now."

"I sense the truth in what you say, and it humbles me." Samara started off, nodding to us. "But, I seek and incredibly dangerous fugitive. I cornered her here, but the Eclipse sisters smuggled her off-world."

She walked over and took another look at the merc she just killed. "I must find the name of the ship that she left on before the trail goes cold."

"I wish you were willing to go with the humans, Justicar." The detective said, coming into the room from our doorway. "I've been ordered to take you into custody if you won't leave."

"You risk a great deal by following your orders, detective." Samara said calmly, waking over to face her. "Fortunately, I will not have to resist. My code obligates me to cooperate with you for one day. After that, I must return to my investigation."

"I won't be able to release you that soon." The detective said calmly.

"You won't be able to stop me." Samara stated matter-of-factly, still giving the detective her blank, stoic stare.

"Whoa, calm down." Weigman said, holding out his hand. "There has to be a win-win situation here somewhere."

"I see a way." Samara said, turning her focus back to us. "While I am in custody, you find the name of that ship. Do that, and I will join you. The code will be satisfied."

"Got any leads for us?" Allen asked, folding his arms again.

"The volus merchant Pitne For is tied to this. Eclipse mercs are preparing to kill him." Samara said, stepping past us to the detective. "Get the truth out of him, he may know a way into the Eclipse base."

"Well... I have to get back to my station." The detective said, looking at Samara. "I guess I have to take you with me."

Samara nodded to the detective as she thanked us, walking off with her.

...

"So what's the plan here?" I asked, taking out my Pulse Rifle as the elevator continued to ascend. "We're just busting in and gunning everyone down?"

"To answer your question, John… yes." Thomas said over my shoulder. "Isn't that what we normally do, anyways?"

"Good point." I said, as the elevator began to slow down. The door slid open, revealing a idle LOKI mech. I cut it down quickly, which unintentionally alerted every Eclipse merc in the area.

"Let's rock." Allen said, charging into the next room with his Spitfire already aimed. We passed several containers of that toxic biotic compound, Minagen X3, which the Eclipse quickly took aim at. The container burst open explosively, plunging all of us into a misty red cloud of gas.

My lungs burned and tasted of iron for a few seconds as my biotics kicked in, flushing out my system. The odd thing is… the energy it gave me persisted, as I started to see through the cloud. I holstered my Pulse Rifle, looking at them with a big smile.

I lunged forward through the cloud, accelerating myself with biotics, as I let out a powerful blast of energy. It blasted all five of the mercs into the wall, shattering their bones. Three more of them came through the door on the far end of the room, one of them firing a rocket launcher at me. I snatched the rocket out of the air as I dodged their gunfire, slamming it back into the loud end of her launcher with a hideous bang.

The other two that were with her were quickly launched off of the platform, as I looked back and saw Thomas, Weigman, and Allen crackling with a misty green energy.

"Is this speed run material?" Thomas asked, clenching his fist with a satisfying popping noise.

"Speed run?" Allen quoted, looking back at me and Weigman.

"Speed run." I agreed, both me and Weigman smiling as we looked to the door.

We all charged through the door, quickly taking down any resistance in our path. We passed through another gas cloud, re-energizing ourselves as we devastated the mercs with our biotics. We calmed down as we walked through the next hallway, as we started hearing whimpering sounds from one of the side rooms.

Allen opened the door, looking inside to see nothing. We walked in closer, as a scared asari stepped out from behind a low wall.

"Please, don't shoot; I'm not one of them!" She said, holding up her free hand. "I mean, I pretended to shoot, but I really didn't! I did it to impress the other Sisters!"

"Funny how you say that, when we found a recording of you talking about how you killed that very same volus…" Allen said with a grim look, looking down at her.

"What?! How did you-" She stated to say, before firing her wimpy SMG at Allen with no effect.

"That's what I thought." He said, as he biotically smashed her through the window on the far side of the room. She hit the adjacent wall with a sickening thud, as her body fell to the ground in an unnatural position.

"Allen, how did you know?" I asked, slightly confused.

"I played the game, remember?" He said, pointing at his own head. "Come on, let's mop these guys up and find the name of that ship."

"Why don't you just tell us the name of the ship, if that's the case?" I inquired, as we walked out of the room.

"Uh… because I don't remember what it was?" He answered bluntly, as we opened the door to the next room. This one was more spacious, with its own private dock and everything. The Eclipse had already fortified themselves, and were shooting at us right out of the door.

"Go!" Allen shouted, as we biotically charged through the doorway. I slammed hard into an asari merc, knocking her crushingly into one of the walls. I spun around, launching the two salarians who were with her off the platform off the building. The gunship that was docked quickly took off into the distance, as a large contingent of Eclipse, about eight, charged through the doorway at the far end of the room towards cover.

Allen and Thomas had already moped up their targets, and were quickly running towards the entrenched troops on the other side. Weigman had taken the far left side, kicking ass with his sword. I ran along the farther side of the room to flank them. The place was a slaughterhouse, as I gained their attention long enough for Allen and Thomas to charge directly into their ranks.

We left the small docking area, into another hallway. This one, was lined with weapon racks.

"Nice…" Allen said, hefting an older, yet still effective rocket launcher.

"Here, Tali might like this." Thomas said, opening up a fairly large gun case that had been left on the table. Inside was a Geth Plasma Shotgun.

"Wow… I wonder how the mercs got their hands on one of these…" Weigman commented, as Thomas extended it to it's full size.

"Guys… the mission?" I reminded, pointing my thumb at the door.

"Oh, right." Allen said, as Weigman strapped the shotgun to his back.

The next area was ominously devoid of activity. There were but a couple of crates lying around the large open area. Before I knew it, a gunship soared above us, taking aim with it's forward cannon.

"I may have forgotten about that…" Allen said with a little bit of surprise, as we took cover behind the flimsy crates. The gunship started unloading on our cover, and we were too drained of the chemical stuff to take it down with bioitcs.

"Shit, what are we supposed to do?" I shouted over the deafening gunfire. "I can't even get a shot off!"

My question was suddenly rendered useless as a few sharp bangs cut through the air. The gunship exploded, sending charred chunks raining down around us. I looked up over the crate, seeing Sydney with her shuttle hovering above the area.

"Um... thanks for the assist, Sydney." Allen said, as the hatch on the shuttle opened, revealing her in full flight gear. "Um... how did you know we were pinned down?"

"I already explained this at the Dantius Towers... I can monitor all your chatter from here." Sydney said matter-of-factly, tapping the side of her helmet. "Looks like I came in the nick of time."

"Actually..., land that thing Sydney." Allen said, motioning with his hand. The shuttle slowly descended, landing with a gentle thud.

"What's wrong?" She asked, taking out a Pulse Rifle from the weapon rack.

"I'll explain it later, but we're taking some of this gas with us." He announced, grabbing a container of the stuff and placing it inside. "We're going to find the name of the ship. While we're mopping up the last of the Eclipse, load up as much of this as you can."

"I'll go ahead and guess there's a good reason why you want to take a highly toxic, illegal gas with us…" She commented, looking at the container.

"This stuff helped us decimate the Eclipse without even firing a bullet." I said in excitement, keeping an eye on the door to the next area. "You'll see eventually."

The four of us quickly went through the door to the next room, where we found and interesting piece of evidence. It was a clear transaction note from Pitne For regarding the Minagen X3 he had sold to them.

"We should give that to the detective." Weigman said, looking over my shoulder at the datapad.

"That's what I had planned." I agreed, downloading the information to my omni-tool.

We strolled into the hallway leading to the main warehouse, finding another volus who was staggering towards us. This already didn't look normal.

"I am a biotic god." He announced, pulsating with very faint biotic fields. "I think things, and they happen."

"Fear me, lesser creature, for I am biotics made flesh!" He shouted, raising her arms up at Allen.

"This guy is higher than the sun!" Weigman said, laughing at the volus.

"I can create suns at will! With my mind!" The volus shouted at him in anger. "Yes, the asari injected so many drugs into me, it was terrifying. But then I began to smell my greatness!"

Thomas simply face-palmed as me, Weigman and Allen broke up into laughter. He just stared at us.

"They may laugh when I fall over, but they don't know what I know in my head!" The volus proclaimed, walking over to me. "That know that I am amazingly powerful. Fear me!"

Allen simply pushed him over, knocking him on his head.

"You should really take a nap before you hurt yourself." Allen said with pity, as the wobbly volus picked himself off of the floor.

"But...great wind...biotic god... wha... what was I saying?" The volus slurred, looking at Allen. "I'm...tired...you may be right...good...I'm tired...destroy the universe later..."

The volus walked off, leaving me with a smile on my face.

"Well... so much for "the great wind." I said, as we walked

"Well, things have gone to hell ever since we smuggled that filthy creature off-world." Wasea said casually, looking at her datapad as we walked farther into the large room. "First a Justicar shows up... now you, the oh so noble Odd Ones Out..."

"Ah... fan of our work?" Weigman said with a snide look on his face. "We aim to please."

"You've killed a lot of Eclipse mercs in the Terminus...including my sister" She said with anger, lifting a container of the gas with her biotics. "At least I can take my revenge by turning your head into a pulpy mass!"

She fired the container at us, as it hit Thomas and exploded into another cloud. She must not have known that the stuff made us stronger. As the cloud dissipated, we were all standing there, fully charged with our biotics, as she looked at us with apparent surprise.

"Tell your sister we said hello." Weigman said to her, as he knocked her into the crates behind her with a sickening thud. Several more Eclipse came out of the side doors to the area, but they dropped fairly quickly to our power.

I quickly checked her console's shipping reports, finding that the ship Samara's criminal had been smuggled off on was called the ALM Demeter.

"We got it, let's get out of here." I announced, stuffing the datapad into one of my pouches. We rushed back through the hallway back to where Sydney was.

"What was wrong with that volus that just walked by?" Sydney asked with a perplexed look on her face.

"Eclipse drugged him." Allen said quickly, as we piled into the shuttle. "Get us back to the port."

"Got it." She compiled, getting back into her seat and flipping her visor down.

After a short trip, we landed back in the same spot. Me and Allen hopped out while Weigman and Thomas opted to stay on the shuttle.

"You guys better disguise those containers a little bit." Allen said, pointing at them. "Samara might find it a little suspicious that we have an illegal gas on-board our shuttle."

With that, we started walking to the police station. Halfway there, Pitne For stopped us.

"Uh, hello there, earth-clan!" He said with a nervous tone in his voice. "Thank you for eliminated in the Eclipse mercenaries It will take them many months to rebuild themselves."

"We came across an interesting find, Pitne." Allen said, arms folded. "A shipping manifest for Minagen X3... with your name on it."

"If it might change your mind, earth-clan, returning that manifest would be very profitable for you." Pitne For negotiated, looking up at both of us. "If you give it to the detective, her reward will be a pat on the back."

We simply walked past him into the police station, where Samara was quietly meditating on the wall behind the detective.

"We got your ship." Allen said, as I handed the datapad to her. "Your criminal left here on the AML Demeter."

"Allen, your team impresses me." Samara said with surprise. "You've fulfilled your part of the bargain, and I will fulfill mine."

"I am ready to leave immediately, if that will satisfy your superiors, detective." Samara announced to her after getting down off of the wall.

"Your free to go, Justicar." The detective agreed, nodding. "It has been an honor to have you in my station... and it's nice you didn't kill me, too."

"Our ship, the Endar Spire, is docked near the main trading floor." Allen told her.

"I must be sworn into your services so that I am never forced to choose between you orders and the Code." Samara said, as she knelled down.

"By the code, I will serve you and Shepard." She stared, as the detective even got up to watch. "Your choices are my choices, your morals are my morals. Your wishes are my code."

She pulsed with biotic energy, as she stood back up and looked at us.

"I never thought I'd see a Justicar swear and oath like that." The detective said to both of us.

"If you ever make me do anything extremely dishonorable, I may need to kill you when I am released from my oath." Samara told us in a clam demeanor.

"Well, I know we don't have to worry about that." Allen said, shaking her hand. "Thank you, though you really should have waited to meet Sean before doing that."

"You were responsible for finding the information I needed." She explained, looking at the datapad. "That it what I agreed to join your crew for. My oath applies to you and your leader, it you are worried."

"That's very good to know. You will be welcomed on our ship." I said, nodding at her.

"Truly, the life of a Justicar can be lonely." She said, looking at both of us again. "I look forward to serving with a company of honorable heroes. Shall we go you your ship?"

"I need to give the detective something really quick." I said, plucking the datapad out of my armor pouch.

"Thanks for getting her out of my district." The detective thanked.

"No problem." I said, extending the datapad. "I have proof that Pitne For sold an illegal gas and weapons to the Eclipse here in your district."

"Let me see what you have." She replied, taking the datapad and reading it over. "Interesting...but I can't verify it. It would be inadmissible."

"I vouch for any evidence Allen and his crew have." Samara added, looking at the detective.

"I accept the judgment of the Justicar. Thanks, I wasn't sure about trusting the judgment of strangers, and humans at that... but you came through." The detective said, scooting the datapad to the side. "I can't do much to reward you, but we do have a small discretionary bounty fund. Take this."

He handed me roughly 5,000 creds, as we thanked each other again and left the district, with Samara in tow. We calmly landed back in the Endar Spire's hanger, where we were greeted by a small surprise.

Sean was there with Tali. He was up on one crutch, but at least he wasn't in a coma anymore.

"Hey man, you're back on your feet!" Allen said as we rushed over to him.

"Yeah, and I've been informed we have two new guest?" He said with a smile, looking at Samara. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Samara."

"The pleasure is mine, Sean." She replied with a nod. "I have joined your crew under an oath to stop the Collectors."

"That's the name of the game around here." Sean said with a nod. "We'll get you into contact with Shepard as soon as we're off-planet."

"Of course." She agreed with another nod. "Where shall I be staying during our partnership?"

"There's an observation deck on deck three." Thomas said, leading her off. The rest of us stood there with Sean, with mixed reactions of fear and happiness.

"So... what else did I miss?" Sean asked with a weak smile.

…

**A/N: This was yet another long-winded chapter, but I think I turned out pretty good. I was worried that the gas made things too easy for the crew, but then again, It made it so I had less cringe-inducing combat dialogue to write.**

**Please remember to fave and review my story, this is GIR, signing off!**


	62. Visions And Killers

Sean's POV

"So... what happened to you?" John asked, looking at me with curiosity. "You were out for almost two whole days."

"It's... hard to explain." I started walking away from the group with the support from my crutch. "There was a flash of light... then things got really dark. It was like being in a pitch black room with no lights or doors... then, I started having visions."

"You mean like when you all brought that Prothean artifact on-board two years ago?" Tali inquired, stepping forward.

"Sort of like that, yeah." I said, looking at her. "There were flashes, but they were also confused, distorted, Prothean in nature... I think the artifact did something to us that day we recovered it from Cerberus."

"So, what are you saying?" Allen asked, looking at me in confusion. "Are you saying that artifact gave us super powers?"

"I haven't said a single thing of that nature." I protested, crossing my arms. "It's just... no biotic, let alone a HUMAN biotic, has ever done anything like I did on that ship."

"That could also explain your eyes." Sydney added, walking over from the shuttle. "Your eyes have had that "glow" ever since you lost consciousness."

"I don't know about that, but I do have to admit I'm seeing a bit better." I said with some small amount of humor. "Other than that, I have no idea."

"You didn't even have any brain activity for a while there." Tali said, looking worryingly at me. "I thought you were never going to wake up."

"Well, no matter what it is, whether it's space magic or god, it's good to have you back." Allen said with a smile, walking over and patting me on my back. "Anyways... we've completed our roster, as you can tell."

"Yeah, sounds like I really missed out on the fun." I agreed, rolling around my neck. "I'm sure there's plenty more chances to make up for it."

"With the Reapers in that equation, I think your wish will be fulfilled." John added, nodding at me.

"Let's all get something to drink at Eternity before we set sail!" Allen said with vigor, patting me even harder on the back. "You deserve it!"

"Not right now, I just need some time to myself." I urged, moving forward on my crutch again towards the doorway. Tali followed me.

While I may have looked like the calmest person in the world as I silently scooted my way back towards my room, what was occurring in my mind was exactly the opposite. My mind raced as I thought over the visions I had experienced. I was, to say the least, frightened.

Fast moving images, very unclear... much like Shepard's experience with the beacons in the first Mass Effect. However, these were not of machines wiping out the fabled race... these were of me, my family, and my friends... dying, being tortured, destroyed... by the Reapers.

I sure as hell lied about the visions being dark and misty. It was as if I was actually there. I leaned up in pure panic, screaming as I woke from my coma. Tali was worried sick about me, and refused to let it go.

I really didn't want to tell anyone about this, not even Tali... those things... no one should ever have to witness that.

"Sean, please... tell me what you saw." Tali asked again, as my door slid open and closed behind us.

"I already told you, I don't-" I said without success, as tears developed in the corners of my eyes.

"Sean, please, you can tell me." Tali said with a genuine tenderness, giving me a hug.

"I saw... terrible things... images of the Reapers torturing... killing...everyone." I finally said, sitting down on the bed. "I can't even describe how horrible it was."

Despite the fact that I've seen some terrible things during our three-year run in this universe, I couldn't even fathom a single memory before now that compared slightly to what I saw in my coma. It did something to me that didn't happen often.

It scared, frightened me.

"It's alright." Tali comforted, sitting down next to me. "We're going to make sure those "visions" never become a reality, right?"

"Yeah." I said with a more determined tone, nodding my head as I looked out the window at the glittering skyline. "We're going to kick their asses."

I got back up throwing my N7 hoodie on.

I spent the next hour forcing myself to walk around the ship to meet Thane and Samara without the use of a crutch, which was, to say the least... difficult. It was good to do so, though. The faster I got my bones and joints working again, the faster I could get back to fighting.

It was also more apparent that I get ready, since after having a little in-depth conversation with them, it was clear they had matters of their own that needed to be resolved. Samara wanted to end her daughter's murderous reign, and Thane wanted to make amends with his son. We had to do all of this before Shepard went to get that IFF, and I had a plan to make it happen.

"Yo, Allen!" I greeted, walking at a brisk pace into the maintenance bay. "Whatcha working on down here this time?"

"If your here about the last explosives issue, you don't have to worry, blue eyes." Allen said without looking away from his project. "I'm just working on my EMP grenades."

"You never did tell me how those worked out." I said, ignoring his "blue eyes" comment and crossing my arms as I looked down at him.

"They do what they're meant to do, frying mechs and equipment, it's just the issue that the energy cells that I load them with get so hot that they fuse into the grenade themselves." Allen explained, using a plasma torch to cut them out of the casing.

"Ever think about... using a heat sink to bridge the cell and the circuits?" I suggested, picking up one of his fixed ones. "That might help you keep the cells from becoming so hot."

"That could work..." Allen said, picking up the casing. "If I wrap the wires around the heat sink..."

"Actually, before you go on, I wanted to discuss something important with you." I said, drawing his attention back to me.

"I knew there had to be a catch to you giving me a good suggestion." He said, flipping his welding mask up to reveal his face. "Sure, hit me."

"Now... I had an idea for solving Samara and Thane's problems in one go." I started, setting down his grenade. "Since Samara seems to think of you the most fondly, I figured you and I could split up to solve their personal issues."

"Wait, wait, waaaaait... are you suggesting I go back to Omega with Samara, let myself become seduced by her sexy daughter, who has the ability to fry my brain like an egg on a skillet?" He asked with a smile, leaning on the workbench as he spoke.

"Um... pretty much." I said, putting my hands into my hoodie pockets with a straight face.

"I'll do it." He said, flipping his mask back down and going back to work.

"I forgot you really like the asari." I said with a bemused expression, shaking my head. "Once the arrangements are made, Sydney will take you to Omega with the shuttle. Once things are complete there, you'll meet back up with us at the Citadel."

I started to walk out, when Allen shouted out my name.

"Catch!" He shouted, tossing what looked like a respirator mask at me. Attached to it was a small tank.

"What the hell is this?" I asked, bewildered.

"You remember that gas we picked up?" He explained, looking back at me. "I've modified these re-breathers to emit that very same gas slowly in increments. It's for heavy combat missions, so you should be able to attach that hose to the filter on the back of your helmet too."

"Nice." I thanked with a smile, looking back at the mask as I walked out of the bay. "I'll have to find and excuse to try this out."

"Words of wisdom... the gas will burn the first time you use it." He warned as the doors closed.

…

Allen's POV

Sydney took the shuttle down slowly, as me and Samara stood up. The familiar sight of Afterlife could be seen just outside the window, shining that oversized sign and flashing holograms of asari strippers.

This place was awesome.

"This nightclub is the most popular on Omega." Samara said, looking out the window besides me. "Perhaps Aria T'Loik can provide us with information on Morinth."

"I think I have a better idea." I said, looking harder at her. "This place is the most popular club on Omega, correct?"

"That is true." Samara answered calmly, shifting a little bit.

"So… if she's this big predator, she'll likely be looking for the most popular or…interesting people around…" I started, looking harder at her. "If I go to the VIP section of Afterlife and make myself noticeable, I might be able to draw her out of hiding."

"That is a very… sensible plan. Such a place has been a popular hunting ground for her before." Samara agreed, as the shuttle landed on the platform with a dull thud. "If you manage to get her to take you to her home, I can corner her there and end her."

"So it is decided." I said, looking at my armor in the corner of the hold. "I guess It would be a bad idea to go in there dressed as a juggernaut?"

"Going into the nightclub dressed in full gear will only push her away." Samara agreed, looking casually at me. "Your current… attire, should suffice."

I looked down, seeing my leather jacket, AC-DC t-shirt, black jeans, and sneakers.

"Really?" I said with all seriousness.

"She will not really care about what you are wearing, only that you are interesting." She explained with honesty, as she stepped forward. "Allen, once you are alone with Morinth, you will be in great danger. You must keep her from seducing you until I arrive."

"Sounds like a plan." I said, slipping on my fingerless gloves. "Sydney, what are you going to be doing while we take care of this?"

"I'll grab a stiff drink." She answered casually, throwing both her feet up onto the dashboard. "Don't worry about me."

As I stepped out of the shuttle, started to feel bad about just overlooking Nef and her mother, but at this point, I think my mistake would be irreversible. I shook my head in regret as I walked off to Afterlife.

…

After making my way through the marketplace, I came up to the VIP entrance. The bouncer on guard looked at me with reasonable suspicion.

"What do you want?" He asked, lazily pointing his rifle at me for a second.

"You know, a guy I met told me the rest of Afterlife is nothing compared to this place." I said casually, pulling my pants up a little farther.

"Sounds like a smart man." He commented, catching on. "What was his name?"

"Jaruut." I said clearly, as the guard nodded.

"Your free to go in." He told me, pointing to the door. "Word to the wise: start a fight, we hurt you. Someone attacks you, it's okay to defend yourself."

"Thanks." I said, walking through the door, which closed loudly behind me.

It wasn't a very long walk to the VIP section, as I walked inside. I was immediately blasted by loud music. It sounded like a more trance-y remix of the normal Afterlife theme.

Saki Kaskas - Callista (Labuh Remix 3)

( /watch?v=CPkpFMFZ2Ww )

Since I couldn't decide where to start, I decided to wander. I walked around to the bar to see what was going on there. The bitchy krogan was there, along with a very bored looking bartender.

"What kind of poison you have around here?" I asked, leaning against the bar.

"Lookin' for something in particular?" He asked, pouring another glass of Ryncol for the krogan.

"How about a… White Russian?" I asked, motioning with my hand.

"Sure, it's been a while since I've made one of those." The bartender agreed, turning around.

"Hmph, wimpy human drink…" The krogan commented bitterly, taking a large gulp from his glass.

"You have some sort of problem with humans?" I asked, leaning against the counter with my elbow.

"They'll let anyone in here these days…" He remarked without looking at me, taking another gulp from his glass.

"Listen, if you have a problem with me, then let's take it outside." I said with a threatening manner, looking hard at him as he turned to face me. "Only one of us will come back."

We stared threateningly back at one another for a few quiet seconds, before he finally gave in.

"I'm just trying to have a drink here, there's no need to get all excited." The krogan said in annoyance, grabbing his glass and turning to walk away. "Damn humans..."

"Well, that could have gone a lot worse." The bartender said casually, sliding my drink over in an old fashioned glass.

"That it could have." I said, flicking a credit chit at him and taking a big gulp from the glass. I inhaled deeply as the milky coffee/vodka mixture ran down my throat. "Thanks."

After downing my drink, I walked onto the dance floor hoping to find that one dancing asari, only to find that one turian asshole harassing one of the dancers.

"Come on, don't be like that." He asked in a slimy voice, flashing a chit. "I have creds. We'll go back to my place. I've got simple taste."

"Back off, asshole. I'm a dancer, not a hooker!" She replied in anger, shoving him away.

"You've got a mouth on you!" He said, taking a step forward and leaning towards her. "I'll enjoy watching you use it."

"Hey, they lady asked you to back off." I said, gaining his attention. "I don't like guys who harass women."

"What the hell? I'm just looking for a good time." He said, walking towards me. "This isn't yooour business."

As he tried to make his move, I quickly threw my knee into his stomach, causing him to double over. I then punched him squarely in the side of the head between his plates, knocking him to the ground.

"The good times are over for this guy." I announced, looking at the dancer.

"Thanks for that, security was asleep." She thanked, walking off towards the bar as I nodded in reply.

As I walked off towards the seating area where people were lounging in their private, glass-walled booths, I saw out of the corner of my eye an asari wearing a skin-tight outfit.

And she was looking directly at me.

"My name is Morinth." She greeted, standing up straight. "I've been watching you. Your the most interesting person in this place."

"_She's awfully straightforward..._" I thought, looking at her up and down. "_I can see why..._"

"I've got a booth over here in the shadows. Why don't you come sit with me?" She offered, looking over at one of the darker booths. I nodded, as we both walked over and took a seat inside the booth. Morinth shut the glass door with a hiss, the music becoming more muffled.

"Nice booth." I commented, taking a sip from the full glass that was suspiciously already there. "No one here to keep the beautiful asari company?"

"Some nights, I come here and there's no one interesting to talk to. Some nights, it's just one person." She said, folding her legs. "Tonight it's you. Why is that?"

"I know what I like." I said smoothly, taking another sip. I noticed calmly that she had slipped some sort of drug into the drink. My body when to work quickly clearing it our of my system.

"Do you?" She asked, almost as if she was challenging me.

"I've traveled the four corners of the galaxy." I said, getting more comfortable in my seat.

"It changes you, doesn't it?" She asked, looking harder at me.

"Real traveling involves going to places filled with danger." I replied, taking another sip from the tainted glass.

"Where you can see and do things most people can't imagine." She finished off, smiling.

"Yes, it's the thrill, the adrenaline, its like a drug... you only want more." I played up, trying to sound more like a bad boy.

"When I travel, I find myself attracted to dark, dangerous places." She started, looking at the full glass lying on the table.

"Violent places?" I added, raising an eyebrow.

"Violence is the surest expression of power." Morinth said with some obvious pride, looking sternly at me once more.

"Violence is power. Power is the end." I agreed, picking up my glass and raising it to her slightly.

"But violence is such a charming way to reach that end." She finished with a bigger smile.

"_This is going pretty well..._" I thought in my head, taking another sip, as she leaned forward to ask me something.

"What do you think about the music here?" She asked, looking curiously at me.

"Hm... very dark, loud, violent pulses... it's almost as if it stirs up something primitive inside you." I carefully re-worded, putting my glass back down on the table.

"You can lose yourself in the music here. There are ways to enhance that." Morinth said suggestively, moving slightly in her seat. "You know?"

"You mean like Hallex?" I asked, leaning back slightly. She smiled in approval as she eyed me up like a fresh steak.

"You want to get out of here?" She asked, putting her legs back down. "My apartment is nearby, and I want you alone."

I willfully agreed to her request, as we got up and left the club, making minor small talk on the way. After heading into one of the large buildings, we took a short elevator ride to her apartment.

"Take a look around if you want... I'm all ready for you." Morinth said in a seductive tone, walking over and sitting on her couch.

I took the chance to bide for time by praising her weapons and the Krogan statue before finally deciding to sit down on the couch.

"I love clubs... people, movement, heat." Morinth said, looking off into space as she spoke. "I can still hear the bass, like the drums of a great hunt, out for your blood."

"But here, it's muted... and your safe." She finished, looking at me. "Is that what you want?"

"People feel safest right before the Grim Reaper takes them away." I replied, looking into her eyes.

"It's true, we're never safe. I've never understood the fascination with safety. Some of us choose differently." She said, standing up, walking over, and sitting down on my lap. "Independence over submission. I think we share that, you and I."

"We've both killed a lot of people, but that's where the similarities end." I said in a slightly sterner tone, looking deeper into her eyes.

"Why do you say that I've killed?" She asked with caution, looking confusingly at me. "What do you know? Let's stop playing games."

She got off of my lap, instead sitting calmly next to me. She now started looking deep into my eyes, as she blinked, and they went dark.

"Look into my eyes and tell me you want me." She said, as I only now started to become fixated. "Tell me you'd kill for me. Anything I'd want."

"Don't count on it, especially if your not even going to take your clothes off first." I said, using my own bad sense of humor to keep myself composed.

"But you... who are you?" Morinth asked, as her eyes flashed back to normal. "Oh, no... I see what's going on. The bitch found herself a little helper."

Like clockwork, Samara busted through the door, fully charged up with biotics.

"Morinth." Samara said, blasting her against the thick glass.

"Mother." Morinth replied bitterly and in some pain.

"Do not call me that!" Samara shouted, blasting her against the glass again.

"I can't choose to stop being your daughter. Mother." Morinth quickly shot back, as Samara charged up another attack.

Morinth tucked herself in, releasing a powerful wave of energy that knocked both me and Samara back.

"What choice?" Morinth asked, lifting her mother into the air, while simultaneously throwing an armchair into her. "My only crime was being born with the gifts you gave me!"

"Enough, Morinth!" Samara shouted, knocking Morinth off her feet with another blast. The two quickly got back up and locked each other in a singularity of energy.

"I am the genetic destiny of the asari, but they are not ready to reveal this." Morinth spouted, holding out her hand. "So I must die."

"You are a disease to be purged." Samara replied, holding her own. "Nothing more!"

"I'm as strong as she is- let me join you!" Morinth offered as she concentrated on her mother.

"I am already sworn to help your crew, Allen!" Samara said, looking directly at her daughter. "Let us finish this."

I rushed forward, yanking Morinth's hand up and killing the energy field.

"You murder has come to an end." I told her, as she looked back at me.

"And they call me a monster!" Morinth shouted in anger, as Samara biotically smashed Morinth into the ground. She attempted to crawl away just like the merc on Illium, as Samara grabbed her by the throat, and closed her eyes.

"Find peace in the embrace of the goddess." Samara prayed, as she violently smashed Morinth's head with a crushing blow. There were a few seconds of silence before Samara got back up, still looking at her daughter's body.

"I am ready to leave this place and get on with my life." Samara said quietly without looking directly at me, then spun around to face me. "Are you ready to go, as well?"

"Do you want to talk about this?" I asked in a gentle tone, looking slightly to the side.

"Allen, what do you think I will say? What can I say? I just killed the bravest and smartest of my daughters." She answered with some small sadness. "There are no words. I will try another time. For now, show mercy on a broken old warrior and let us leave."

With that, we silently left the apartment and got back into the elevator. About halfway down, I broke the silence.

"Um... before we leave Omega, I want to help bring closure to someone Morinth killed before we got here." I told her quietly, looking off to the side. "I discovered she had killed a younger girl called Nef a few days ago, and her mother is still here."

"I will wait for you in your shuttle, while you bring closure to her mother." Samara said with understanding.

"Thank you."

…

After some searching, I finally found the apartment where Nef and her mother were living. I rang the doorbell, as the door slid open loudly.

"Mrs. Diana?" I asked politely, walking inside to see a older, saddened woman sitting on her couch.

"Are you here about my daughter?" She asked, looking down at the ground.

"My name is Allen, Diana, and I came here to tell you that Nef was murdered, and her murderer just payed the price for it." I told her walking over to face her.

"Wha-what?" She replied in surprise, standing up.

"Me and a asari Justicar discovered who your daughter's killer was, Diana." I told her, as she looked into my eyes with forming tears. "We found her, and avenged your daughter."

"Oh, thank you!" She said, giving me a hug as tears rolled out of her eyes. "My poor Nef...

"It's OK..." I said, returning her hug as she sobbed. "She's at peace now."

I don't know why, but at that moment the thought of my own parents popped into my head. I wondered if they even knew that I was alive, or if they had already mourned me in that case.

With new-found energy, I finished my business with Diana and got back on the shuttle to find a slightly scuffed up Sydney sleeping in one of the chairs. Samara was sitting quietly across from her.

"Hey, you alright?" I asked, shaking her awake.

"Huh... oh yeah..." She said, getting back up. "Yeah, some asshole tried to take my credits...we got into a fight."

"You still haven't answered my question yet." I asked with a more dulled expression.

"Nevermind." Sydney said, throwing her helmet back on and jumping to the her seat. "Lets get back to the Citadel."

...

**A/N: This chapter took a while to get out because I've been trying to study hard for my finals. It's a bitch to write when you have 30 different assignment to juggle at once.**

**Please remember to review and fav my story, this is GIR, signing out!**


	63. The Sins Of The Father

Sean's POV

I stared out the bridge windows intently as we exited FTL and entered Citadel space. The normal purple cloud gave way to the gigantic station, and the millions of ships around it.

"Don't you wish it were as amazing to look at as the first time you saw it?" Weigman asked, looking back at me as the ship neared the station.

"Ha, the first time I saw the station, me, Allen and Thomas were already on it." I replied with a wide smile. "Dazed and confused."

"You never did tell me exactly what happened after you guys got here." He said, then picking up his cup of coffee and draining it. "All I ever got was "we came, we saw, we kicked it's ass." 

"Funny." I replied with yet another smile. "We got some money, armor, weapons... saved Tali, then ended up becoming the misfit members of Shepard's crew."

"It's really that simple?" Weigman commented, swiveling around to face me. "Boy, we sure had a rougher time than you."

"I know, you've only told us a million times already." I replied, rolling my eyes as I looked back at the window.

A few seconds afterwards, Thane and John walked in, both looking out the window as well. After Weigman cleared up our docking credentials, Thane turned slightly to face me.

"If Kolyat is planning on killing someone, he would have be involved with one of the crime bosses on the station." Thane said matter-of-factly, as I looked directly at him.

"Don't worry, Thane." I said, putting on my helmet with a small hiss. "We'll start at Immigration, and ask Commander Bailey for assistance."

"You know someone in C-Sec?" Thane asked with a small bit of surprise.

"Technically, I know three people who are associated with C-Sec." I replied, checking my Plasma Cutter and collapsing it. "One of them was fired and became a drunk, the other became Shepard's boyfriend."

After docking, John followed me and Thane to the airlock, where HK was standing guard.

"Request: Master, it has been a very long time since I've gotten to kill something." HK stated as we neared the airlock. "May I please accompany you?"

"Don't worry, HK." I reassured, walking over and placing my hand on his shoulder. "I promise you, next mission, we will take you out and let you kill something worthy of your skills."

"Answer: Very well, but I am not certain I like the idea of a master who feels reservations at having an assassination droid at their disposal." HK replied In a much more somber tone. "In fact, it brings with it a certain sense of dread, that you may actually not use me to my fullest capabilities."

"Calm down, HK." John urged, walking over. "We're going to attack the Collectors very soon, you just have to wait a little longer."

"As you desire master. Signing off."

With that, we cycled through the airlock, the doors opening to reveal the splendor of the Citadel.

…

After a short shuttle ride, it was easy to make our way to the post Bailey was stationed at. We had been fortunate enough to become friends with Bailey shortly after the Geth attack, when we came in for a job which he was happy to help us with.

After stepping through the security scanners, we walked in on Bailey writing a report.

"Oh, it's been a while since I've seen you." Bailey greeted, looking up from his console. "Sean, right?"

"Yeah. I'm actually surprised you still remember me Bailey." I said with a friendly tone, taking off my helmet and placing it underneath my arm.

"How could I forget you?" He replied, leaning forward and looking at me. "The crime rate went down about 6% after you killed that batarian bastard in the lower levels."

"Hey, we're always here to offer help." I said with a bis smile, nodding slightly.

"Hell, I'll take that wherever I can find it." Bailey said with a small smirk, staring at me. "What the hell happened to your eyes?"

"Oh... I got... cybernetics." I quickly made up, blinking quickly. "My old ones were badly damaged a year ago after a run-in with Cerberus."

"Sorry to hear about that, I've heard nasty things about them." Bailey said with respect, looking back to his computer. "Now, is there anything you needed, or can I get back to work?"

"My friend here is looking for his son." I explained, stepping forward. "We think a criminal in your ward hired him."

"That should be easy, we don't see many drell here." Bailey agreed, quickly doing a search on his console. After a few seconds, he looked back up. "There we go, one of my men reported a drell recently... and he was talking to Mouse, interesting..."

"Mouse?" Thane repeated, gaining a more attentive look to his face.

"Ah, petty criminal, probably not the guy who hired your boy, but a messenger." Bailey explained, looking harder at Thane. "He's a former duct rat, runs errands for anyone who'll pay."

"Where can we find him?" I asked, shifting slightly.

"He's usually upstairs, outside of the Dark Star." He answered, nodding his head in the direction of the stairs. "He works out of a public comm terminal."

"Sounds like your boy is working for the wrong crowd." Bailey told Thane, looking back up at him.

"Yes, I agree." Thane said in a raspy monotone, nodding to his comment.

"If Mouse can't get in touch with your son directly, then he'll know who can." He told Thane, as he looked back to me. "I'll help you if I can."

"We'll be back around later." I finished, as I slipped my helmet back on and the three of us moved out of earshot of Bailey.

"You didn't tell him that Kolyat plans to assassinate someone." Thane pointed out, leaning towards me.

"He's a police officer." I said, nodding towards his desk. "He'd try to stop him, and one of them could end up dead. I wouldn't want that for anyone."

"Yes, of course." Thane agreed, nodding then looking off into the distance. "Thank you, Sean."

"No problem."

After a short walk upstairs, we found Mouse talking to an unheard caller while working quickly on a datapad.

"You Mouse?" I asked, jogging his attention.

"What are yo- oh shit!" Mouse started, but then recoiled after seeing Thane. "Krios... I thought you retired and... your one of those mercenaries from the news net..."

"You've heard of us?" I asked, genuinely interested in what he knew about me.

"Yeah, I heard your team worked with Commander Shepard before she died... blew up a bunch of research bases in the Traverse last year." Mouse outlined quickly, eyes still darting between me and Thane.

"That was a lot of fun." John said off-hand, smiling.

"Wha... what do you want with me?" He asked, looking back to Thane

"Be still, Mouse." Thane said, patting Mouse on the shoulder. "You can change your pants in a moment."

"How do you know Thane?" I asked, nodding towards him.

"Krios, he never...eh... if he didn't say nothin', I ain't either." Mouse said with a small amount of insult, folding his arms.

"When we heard the name, I didn't think it could be the same Mouse." Thane explained, looking at me. "He was a contact on the Citadel while I was still active. He and some other children would gather information on my targets."

"You used children for espionage?" I asked with some anger.

"Children, the poor... my people's word for them is drala'fah, the ignored." Thane explained further, looking back to Mouse. "They're everywhere, see everything... yet they are never seen."

I nodded in acknowledgment, pointing my head silently towards him. Thane grabbed him by the front of his shirt, looking directly into his eyes.

"You gave another drell information." He quickly said in a threatening manner. "Who's the target?"

"I don't know, I didn't ask." Mouse said with honesty, as Thane backed off. "Because the people who this came from... they can make me disappear. I'm not going to die for you."

"Look, you and Thane have a good history." I urged. "He wouldn't ask if it wasn't important. Do it for an old friend."

"I want to... he was always nice to us." Mouse explained, rubbing his hands together nervously. "But these people aren't nice, Krios."

"Nobody will know you spoke with us." I replied, nodding to him.

"Mouse, I swear you won't be named." Thane added, shifting slightly.

"Alright, alright...he came with that holo you took of me, he wanted a job." He finally gave in, holding up his hands. "I went through your old contacts to see who would give him a shot, and the guy who hired him was Elias Kelham."

"Enlighten me." I said, folding my arms.

"Human, moved to the Citadel about ten years ago. He was little when you were here, Krios." He explained, looking from me to Thane. "He got big after the geth attack, lots of the big guys from before got killed, living in those big, fancy apartments in the Presidium. He runs all the rackets on the lower end of the wards, Shina Kiba. Seriously bad news."

"You were brave for doing this, Mouse." I nodded, looking back to Thane.

"Yeah... If I live long enough to pat myself on the back." Mouse replied somberly, scratching his shoulder.

"Kelham will never know." Thane reassured sternly.

"I hope not... I'm out of here." Mouse finished, focusing on Thane. "Next time your in town, just don't bring the family."

With Mouse now gone, me, Thane, and a quiet John looked at each other for a few seconds, before I broke the silence.

"You alright, Thane?" I asked, nudging his shoulder.

"Mouse knew more about my life than Kolyat ever did." Thane said somberly, as his eyes suddenly locked into a dead stare forward. "_He smiles up at me, broken teeth and scabby knees; bare feet black. A dead-end future looking up at me; heavy gifts I offer._"

His eyes returned to normal, as he looked back down at the metal floor.

"I was the only good thing he had back then." Thane continued, looking back up at me. "But I left him, as I left Kolyat."

"You don't need to blame yourself." I comforted, as we all started walking back down.

"If I don't, who will?" Thane finished as John spoke up.

"Wait, so you have a photographic memory?" John questioned with genuine curiosity.

"More than photographic." Thane explained, looking back at him. "My race's acute senses allow us to remember everything, from sights, sounds, smells, and even the feeling of something in your hands with vivid detail."

"So, you kinda have a memory like an elephant?" John compared, walking directly next to him.

"John..." I exclaimed in annoyance, rubbing the top of my helmet.

"Elephant?" Thane asked, confused.

"It's an animal native to Earth, just ignore him." I said dismissively, as we found ourselves back at the C-Sec station here.

"We'd like to continue our previous conversation." I told Bailey, taking my helmet back off.

"Did you talk to Mouse, did you get the name of the guy he's working for?" He inquired, focusing on us.

"Elias Kelham." I said clearly, causing Bailey to shift in his chair.

"Kelham, ah shit." Bailey exclaimed, closing his eyes and looking down at his desk for a bit. "Ah... this is awkward... Kelham and I have an "agreement". He doesn't cause too much trouble, and buys me tickets to the C-Sec charity ball... in return, I ignore him."

"You're accepting bribes?" I scrutinized, looking negatively at him. "Is this going to be a problem for our search?"

"I said I'd help, there will just be repercussions if I don't do it right." He explained, looking hard at me. "We give each other space, It keeps the peace. I'll get some of my people to bring him in and set him up in a private room. You can interrogate him yourself."

"That sounds just fine to me." I said, cracking my neck. "You bring him in, but stay out of sight, letting us take any heat."

"I'll make it happen, wait here." He agreed, getting up and going over to one of his dispatch officers. About ten minutes later, Kelham was quickly brought in without any struggle. I looked at the officer who made the arrest, putting my helmet back on.

"Tell Bailey that we're ready." I commanded, as he walked off. Thane nodded in respect, as Bailey walked over.

"He'll expect me to get him out of this." Bailey said with some concern.

"Not today, I think." Thane said with some small amount of humor, as someone else walked into the station.

"_Captain, his lawyer's here._" The turian C-Sec officer radioed over. "_Elias was told to page him if C-Sec got within ten meters._"

"I'll stall him, get in there and work fast." Bailey ordered us, as he walked off.

"We should question him together, keep the pressure on him." Thane suggested, looking between me and John. "Thoughts on how we should handle this?"

"Don't worry, I have a really good way to get what we want out of him." I said, tapping my holstered 500. concealed in my coat pocket. "John, help Bailey keep the lawyer out of our way."

The two of us walked down the hallway into the interrogation room, finding a disgruntled Elias Kelham strapped to a special chair.

"Who the hell are you two?" Kelham asked, as both of looked at each other and silently went opposite directions.

"My name's Sean. I'm a Spectre." I said out and clear, as he tried to get a good view of me.

"Prove it." Kelham challenged, trying to sound threatening.

"I don't have to prove anything." I said, taking out my S&W, pushing the barrel against his head and pulling back the hammer. "Spectres are above the law... are we clear?"

"Crystal." He answered with a new found sound of obedience in his voice.

"Good to hear. Fortunately, I'm not after you, but someone else, an assassin you hired. Who's the target?" I played out in my threatening monotone.

"Joram Talid, a turian." He spilled, getting another angry look on his face. "He's running for office, lives in the 800 blocks."

"Thank you for your cooperation." I said sarcastically, plopping my sidearm back into my coat. "You'll never see us again, only because your below my pay grade."

With that, me and Thane strolled out of the room, leaving a squirming Kelham once more by himself.

"That may go down in history as the shortest interrogation ever." Thane said humorously, as Kelham's lawyer pushed past us to the room. Bailey and John weren't too far behind.

"What's the story?" Bailey asked, hoping that his gambit payed off. "Why did Kelham hire the boy?"

"Assassination." I answered, looking at Thane. "Some turian politician called Joram Talid. Know him?"

" Joram? Yeah, you may have seen is posters around." Bailey said, shaking his head. "Wants to put and end to organized crime in the wards, problem is his message is all mixed up in race politics. He's anti-human.

"Well... if he get's elected, then the majority agrees." I said, crossing my arms.

"That's a "nice" ideal, Sean." Bailey said with some annoyance, looking to a female officer. "Sergeant, get a patrol car, these three need to get to the 800 blocks."

…

After arriving in the 800 blocks and splitting up with Thane, Me and John scanned the area slowly from the catwalk, making sure not to cause too much movement as to attract attention from below.

"John, keep close on the other side, and as soon as you spot a drell, let me know." I ordered, walking slowly along the catwalk. "I'll watch his Joram, and make sure he stays in our sight."

"Got it." He agreed, slipping on a pair of low-vision goggles. "Is there anything I should know about before this all goes down?"

"Actually, yeah." I said, turning to him. "About halfway through this area, we'll have to pass through a restaurant's storage area. Follow my lead when that comes up."

"Sure thing." John agreed again, taking out a Cerberus stun baton. "If things become too much to handle, I'll try to subdue him."

"I don't think it'll come to that, but sure." I commented, pushing the slightly unnerving baton away from me as my radio began to emit a soft beeping noise. "Yeah, we're in position, Thane."

"_Has Joram Talid arrived yet?_" He asked calmly through the comm.

"No… he's-" I started to say, as one of the transit elevator doors opened, revealing a well-dressed turian, being flanked by a rather bulky looking krogan wearing Blood Pack armor. "Ah, nevermind, he just arrived."

"_Keep_ _sight of him from above while I watch for Kolyat._" Thane said, as they both started moving at a brisk pace through the security checkpoint.

"Well, let's go." I said to John, as we took each side of the catwalk and began to stalk.

We followed him for a while, watching the corrupt politician use his hired muscle to collect extortion money from local, human-owned businesses.

"_Why don't we just let Kolyat kill this asshole?_" John asked over the secure channel, looking up at me from the catwalk across from me. "_I mean, look at this crap. Are we really going to let him get away with stealing?_"

"We'll worry about that when the time comes." I said in a calmer voice. "Focus on your job, we don't need to mess this up."

"_Yeah yeah, I got ya…_" John agreed, as he visibly focused back on the lower floor.

After a few more stops, we finally started coming up on one of the residential buildings.

Eventually, we had to cut through a restaurant's storage area, where a lone worker was taking stock. The moment he took notice of us, he charged over.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" He asked in anger, squinting at us.

"What am I doing here? What are YOU doing here?" I asked dramatically, throwing out my arms.

"Wh- what?" The worker replied in confusion. 

"Don't you have any idea how dangerous this area is?" John added, pointing at him.

"Dangerous?"

"Get out, NOW! Before it blows!" I said with urgency.

"Blows?! What th-"

"RUN!"

"A-alright!" The worker agreed, running out as quickly as he could.

"Sean, I have to admit I didn't think that would work." John commented humorously, as we quickly made our way back through to the catwalk, and apparently just in time, too.

"_I think I've spotted him!_" John said loudly into the comm, as I flipped my head around to face where he was looking. Sure enough, there was Kolyat, just as he started to follow his target.

"Go!" I quickly said, as me and John vaulted over the railings and used our biotics to land softly. Thane quickly ran up to us, as I shouted "Kolyat!"

Surprised, both Kolyat and Joram whipped around to face us. Realizing that his element of surprise was blown, Kolyat quickly drew his sidearm, putting one round into the unprepared krogan and giving chase to a fleeing Joram.

"He's heading to Talid's apartment!" I shouted, as the three of us went after him, when we had caught up with him, he already had Joram at gunpoint. I drew my 500. quickly, pointing it threateningly at him as John did the same with his plasma cutter.

"Kolyat." Thane said, gaining his son's attention.

"This... this is a joke." Kolyat said in disbelief. "Now? Now you show up?"

"Help me, drell, I'll give you whatever you want!" Joram pleaded, hands folded squarely behind his head.

"Hold it, C-Sec!" Bailey said, walking in with two officers and with his sidearm already drawn. "Put the gun down, son."

"Get out of my way, I'm walking out, he's coming with me." Kolyat said, shaking his head.

"They'll have snipers outside." Thane told him, taking a step towards him.

"I don't need your hel-" Kolyat started to say, as I fired the massive revolver at the lampshade next to him, surprising everyone. I then charged forward quickly. "What the he-"

I threw a single punch to the side of his head before he could finish, knocking him off balance, and the gun out of his hand. Joram Talid quickly got away from him.

"Talid, get the hell out of here." I ordered, quickly picking up Kolyat's pistol and crushing it in my hand.

"Yeah, yeah, I will!" He quickly agreed, limping past Bailey and into the hallway.

"Take the boy into custody." Bailey ordered, as a turian officer walked up with a pair of stun cuffs.

"You son of a bitch!" Kolyat shouted, causing the officer to stop in his tracks.

"Your father traveled parsecs to some and talk to you." I quickly said, holstering my 500. as I looked at Bailey. "C-Sec can give you five minutes. Can't they?"

He nodded silently, as his men backed off slightly to give Thane some space. He looked hard at Kolyat for a while before finally speaking up.

"You're angry because I wasn't there when your mother died." Thane said, looking up at his son.

"You weren't there when she was alive, why should you be there when she died?" Kolyat said with a lot of anger, folding his arms.

Thane stayed silent for even longer this time, before looking back up to his son.

"Your mother... they killed her to get to me." Thane said, looking into his son's eyes. "It was my fault."

"What?" Kolyat said in a softer tone, letting his arms fall to his sides.

"After her body was given to the deep, I went to find them. The triggermen, the ringleaders... I hurt them, eventually killed them." Thane explained, looking down again. "When I went back to see you, you were... older. I should have stayed with you."

"Well I guess it's too bad for me you waited so long, huh?" Kolyat replied with a small amount of anger.

"Kolyat, I've taken a lot of bad things out of the world...you're the only good thing I ever added to it." Thane said, as tears began to run down Kolyat's face.

"This isn't a conversation you should be having in front of strangers." Bailey interrupted, stepping over. "Boys, take Kolyat and his father back to the station. Give them a room and as much time as they need."

"Your doing him a great favor, Bailey. Thanks." I said quietly, as two officers took Thane and Kolyat out of the room.

"Yeah, well, send me a Christmas card or something." He replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "I have to get back to the station, come on, I'll give you and your friend a lift."

After a short ride and some small talk, we ended up back at the station. We stood outside for about half an hour with Bailey before I finally spoke back up.

"They've been in there for a long time." John said, looking between me and Bailey.

"Eh, the kids been through a lot." Bailey replied, opening up several files on his computer. "I ran some searches in the C-Sec archive... ten years back, a bunch of real bad people were killed, like someone was cleaning house... the prime suspect was a drell. We never caught him."

"Ten years is a hell of a long time... whoever committed those murders probably isn't around anymore." I replied, walking over to his desk.

"Yeah? Well, I guess your right about that." Bailey quickly agreed, closing the files.

Right as the files disappeared from his console, Thane walked out from the restricted section, quietly walking back over.

"So, how was your chat?" I asked casually, as he turned to face me.

"Our problems aren't...they aren't something I can fix with a few words." He answered somberly. "We'll keep talking, see what happens."

"Your boy shot some people, none that I feel sympathy for, but there it is." Bailey said with some sad truth in his voice.

"That scumbag was extorting businesses and threatening the lives of other humans." John said, leaning against the edge of his desk.

"But he can't just get away with it." Bailey told him, raising his hand.

"The guy wants to help make a difference... give him some community service or something." I suggested, crossing my arms.

"Community service for attempted murder?" Bailey questioned, looking at us with raised eyebrows. "What jury would agree to that?"

"Not a single one in this world... it would have to stay away from the courts, strictly within C-Sec." I proposed.

With an interested face, Bailey stood up and walked over.

"Interesting, I'll think about it." Bailey agreed, shaking hands with Thane.

"Thank you, captain." Thane said with gratitude, as Bailey silently sat back down.

With our business officially wrapped up, we made our way back to the docks. When we arrived, we found Allen and Sydney already there, waiting for us.

"Hey, look at that!" I greeted, doing the Shoot Snake with him for identification, as if we really needed it. "Your not a vegetable!"

"Are you sure?" He replied, feeling his entire head with his hands.

"Very funny." I said with a small chuckle. "How did things go with Samara?"

"Innuendos were made, alcohol was drunk, and asses were kicked." He replied with a wide smile, looking back to Sydney. "She apparently also got into trouble of her own."

"Oh, did you now, Sydney?" John inquired, now interested.

"It wasn't anything interesting, just two _really_ drunk turians trying to get me to come home with them." She explained bitterly, folding both her arms and her legs as she sat down on a cargo crate. "I used some "physical persuasion" to get them to back off."

"Nice." John exclaimed with a smile, looking at me. "What are we doing next, Sean?"

"I'm not sure, we'll take some shore leave until something pops up, I suppose." I said, sending a wave of satisfaction over everyone's faces. "Come on, let's go rest."

…

**A/N: This was another brutal chapter to write. Considering how difficult it is to get the dialogue accurate, I'm surprised I managed to will myself into finishing this one as quickly as I did.  
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**Anyways, we're quickly getting closer to the end of Mass Effect 2, and we're on the eve of Mass Effect 3. I'll probably be writing a bit faster once I get to that point, due to the much more engaging physical actions in that game.**

**That means I'll be able to entertain you guys with more descriptive action scenes, along with a little less dialogue. It'll be even more fun for me to "fix" the ending. :)**

**Please remember to fav my story and write a review for my story! **

**This is GIR, signing off!**


	64. Derelict Reaper

Sean's POV

"They really are quite beautiful, aren't they?" Tali said, as we walked through one of the residential sections of the Citadel.

"What is?" I asked, looking around.

"Those little pink trees." She pointed out, drawing my eyes to the level above us. "They are the only living things I've seen in the wards."

"Yeah, only the people with the money get to see a lawn filled with grass around here." I commented with some bitterness, as we continued to walk.

"You know what they say…" Tali said, letting go of my hand and making air quotes. "We must not waste resources!"

"Funny, but sadly true." I replied with a smile, as we continued walking.

After having some lunch and browsing the latest weapon mods on the market, we started making your way back to the ship. She then asked me another question that… affected me.

"Sean… what was your childhood like?" She asked, wanting to know more about me.

"Um… well, I had a relatively quiet childhood… went through many troubles in school, only becoming diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome in my 8th year… it was hard." I told her with honesty, squeezing her hand very slightly. "Knew Thomas since I was a child, I met my other friends afterwards."

"What happened to your colony?" She asked, looking harder at me. "None of you ever mention it."

What she said caught me off guard in a bad way, and my reaction clearly showed it.

"I… really don't want to talk about it." I told her, taking a seat on a nearby bench. "That's something that no one should ever have to live through."

"Sean, it's me." She urged, calmly taking a seat next to me. "You can tell me about it."

"Trust me, you really don't want to know." I pushed away, leaning over and planting my face into my palms.

"Why don't you want to tell me?" She asked, placing her hands on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry Tali, but I just can't." I finished, looking harder at her. "What happened there... so many people dying... it was just horrible."

"OK, i'm sorry." She eased calmly, giving me another hug.

The entire walk back was quiet, and no words were spoke. Neither of us were angry or upset, but Tali had felt a lot of tension with her request. She decided to give me space, I suppose.

The two parts of my conscious began another gruesome fight, the truth of our origins vs. what everyone on the ship thought was necessary. It was an ugly, long fight, and neither side ever seemed to win. My gut always tugged on the truth, yet my brain yanked at what was needed, leaving my heart to be ravaged in the middle. No one said wars were fought without civilian casualties.

Once back on the ship, I picked up the parts that I had ordered and silently went back to my room. Once there, I opened the small metal crate to find something that I wasn't expecting in any shape or form.

"What the…" I said halfway, looking at the object.

It was a round, dark, glassy sphere that contained what looked like swirling gas or clouds. It shifted between cold colors very slowly. As I stared at this thing, I started to feel cold.

Just as I was about to ask Bastila about the heater, my mind flashed quickly to what looked like a dark, damp version of the prothean's visions. I turned about to see the monolith from the Cerberus facility, pulsating with large amounts of power. It shot out energy towards me, as my vision quickly flashed back.

Before I even thought to ask what the hell had just happened, I felt something warm, quickly turning cold running from my nose. I was bleeding. Just as this thought entered my head, I stated to get a bad headache.

"What the fuck…" I asked out loud, looking down at the floor. The small sphere had shattered into several different pieces, and the gas that had been contained inside of it had faded away. I must have jolted my knees during the vision, knocking it out of my lap.

"Um, Bastila, who sent us that package?" I asked, looking over at her avatar as it popped up.

"The sender was unknown, but the package passed my scans before it was sent to you." She explained. "My scans showed it contained a heat sink shipment."

"That was NOT a box of heat sinks." I replied, looking at the glass on the floor. "Inform my friends that if they get any "suprise packages", that they check it with me."

"Of course, Sean." Bastila agreed, as she looked off into thin air, then back to me. "Sean, it appears that you have an urgent call on the QEC."

"Shepard." I said quietly to myself, as I got up and made my way there. "Bastila, connect us. I'll be right there."

I walked into the room where Shepard was already waiting for me. I stepped into the circle, seeing a slightly more tired look plastered on her face.

"Hello Shepard." I greeted warmly.

"Heh… looks like you got better." She replied with a smile and crossed arms, but it slowly faded away as she stared at me. "What's wrong with your eyes?"

"You know, I seriously have no damn clue." I said with a weak smile, holding up my hand to my eyes. "According to my friends, they started doing that shortly after what happened on the collector ship."

"Well, I hope your ok." She said honestly. "I just got word from The Illusive Man that we may have a way to get into the Omega 4 Relay."

"I'm guessing it's not as easy as strapping a few honeycombs to the side of the ship." I said, crossing my arms.

"It's not." She agreed, talking a deep breath. "Apparently Cerberus discovered a derelict Reaper corpse floating in the gravity well of Mnemosyne, a gas giant in the Hawking Eta Cluster. They think that its IFF, if integrated with the ship, can be used to successfully navigate the Omega 4 Relay."

"I can already assume things aren't as simple as dropping by and picking it up." I assumed, leaving my arms crossed. "Especially if you're calling us about it."

"Your intuition happens to be brutally correct." She confirmed, bringing up a holographic remake of the Reaper. "TIM and the rest of Cerberus lost contact with the research team there, so we're going there to find out what happened, and recover the IFF."

"Give us the coordinates and a plan, and you have a deal." I agreed, letting my arms fall to my sides.

"Glad to hear it." She said with a smile, zooming in on the Reaper. "We'll dock on the Cerberus section of the facility. From there, we will find the research team and meet up in the atrium... here. I'll send you what other details I have in a bit."

"Sounds like a good plan." I agreed, rubbing the beginnings of a beard on my face. "We'll fan out and find that IFF."

"Good, we'll meet you there." She replied with a nod. "See you there."

With that, the transmission cut off, as the projection of Shepard faded away. I quietly walked off of the platform and out of the room to find that Weigman was waiting for me, leaning against the wall.

"So, what's the word?" He asked, standing up straight as I approached..

"We're heading to the Hawking Eta cluster to find a Reaper IFF." I told him without stopping. "Tell everyone that shore leave is over, and to get ready."

"Gotcha." He agreed, as I made my way into the elevator.

After about half an hour, we quickly sailed away from the Citadel, punching in the coordinates for the Reaper corpse. Within an hour, we were all ready for a full-fledged combat mission.

I decided Jack, Tali and HK would be coming along for the mission, as well as Weigman. It would be interesting, to say the least, personality wise.

"Statement: This will be a good test of my abilities, right master?" HK asked with curiosity, as I just finished making a quick fix to my eezo emitter.

"It should be." I confirmed, popping a brand-new heatsink into my Plasma Cutter. "Don't get your personality core in a bunch."

"Exclamation: That is quite unfair, master. Have I not brought you a great deal of satisfaction?" HK replied in what sounded like a slightly sarcastic tone.

"I do have to admit, you are quite entertaining." I quipped, collapsing the pistol. "Just make sure you don't cause too much carnage before we find what we're looking for."

"As you desire, master. Signing off." HK replied, waking out of the room, leaving me with Allen, who had been working on another one of his... experimental devices.

"A Jedi couldn't ask for a better companion." Allen said without looking up from his soldering table.

"Har Har Har." I said, re-attaching my eezo emitter to my arm and picking up my Plasma Cutter. "Stay on alert while we're out there, you know what's coming up soon."

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that." He said, casually pointing a screwdriver at me. "What was up with that e-mail you sent us?"

"Oh, yeah..." I recalled slowly, walking back over. "Before we left dock, I got a private delivery. Inside my package, there was this small greenish-blue ball that started sending me weird mental images."

"Sean, this sounds really fucking important!" Allen said with some anger. "Why didn't you just tell us that?"

"Trust me, it freaked the shit out of me when it happened, but I didn't want to start a commotion this close to a mission." I explained, leaning on his table. "Besides, what CAN I say about it?"

"For all we know, that thing could have been an indoctrination device." Allen said, pointing his screwdriver at me. "Seriously."

"You think I don't know that?" I said with more force. "Don't worry, I disposed of it, and I'll talk to the Prothean about it later."

"Fine, but if you start shouting "ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL", I'm shooting first, and asking questions later."

…

"We've entered the system." Bastila announced from the holotank on the bridge. "We'll be in orbit of Mnemosyne in one minute."

"Thanks, Bastila." I replied, turning around to face the ground team. "Alright guys, you've been briefed. Any questions before we go down there?"

"Yeah, what's going to be on that thing when we get there?" Jack asked, sitting on one of the bridge chairs.

"Well… we don't really know." I answered, as I started to pace.

Before I could continue, my omni-tool began to beep loudly. It was Joker.

"Yeah Joker?" I said, turning around. "Are you calling me because there's a problem, or because you miss me?"

"_Come on, even I can come up with better jokes than that._" He replied quickly. "_It turns out there's only one docking port on this… thing. Your team will have to find another way to get inside._"

"*sigh*… Alright, thanks for the head up, Joker." I said with annoyance. "Spire out."

"What's up, Sean?" Weigman asked with crossed arms.

"It looks like we'll have to go EVA for this one, there's only one good docking port." I said, as the ship began to rumble.

"We have entered the planet's gravity well." Bastila reported quickly, looking off into the distance. "High winds and turbulence effecting trajectory, compensating."

"Everyone get down to the hanger and suit up." I ordered as the Reaper corpse came into view. "We're going outside."

…

Weigman's POV

I still had to admit I hated going directly into space. The sheer silence, the weightless feeling in your gut… It made me incredibly uneasy.

We all floated towards an opening in the Reaper corpse, a eight-meter wide hole that was completely burned out. It was kind of creepy to think we were going inside what was basically a giant corpse that had been floating here for centuries.

"Weigman, you awake?" Sean asked, snapping me out of my trance. "Come on, Bastila thinks there's an internal airlock in here somewhere."

"Oh, sure." I agreed, propelling myself into the hole. Inside, it looked even worse. All the walls were a jet-black mix with dark purple, with debris and hoses lying around haphazardly.

"It must have taken a LOT of firepower to put something this big down." Jack commented, looking back at the hole.

"The Protheans didn't go down without a fight, that's for sure." Tali agreed, looking off into the distance. "I think I see the airlock over there."

Sure enough, a clean white airlock illuminated by some floodlights was off in the distance. We quickly got inside, as the pressure inside normalized.

"Assessment: I am detecting three other lifeforms emerging from the other airlock, master." HK said quickly, looking at the door.

"That's gotta be Shepard and her team." I said, as our door slip open, revealing Shepard, Zaeed, and Grunt. They quickly drew their weapons on us, but brought them back down.

"Christ…" Zaeed quipped, easing his rifle back down. "You dumb-asses nearly got yourselves shot."

"Nice to meet you too." Weigman said gruffly, cracking his neck.

"This isn't the time for a meet-and-greet." Shepard quickly said, looking hard at me. "According to EDI's readings, the entire science team had vanished. We need to find that IFF."

"Right, so do we all stick together or fan out?" I asked, taking out my Pulse Rifle.

"Well, there's two entrances to different parts of the Reaper." Shepard explained, looking around the pasty white corridor. "We might as well split up, we'll find the IFF more quickly that way."

"Sure thing." I said, looking at the two doors. "We'll go into sector B, spread out and look for it."

With that, we quickly entered the secondary section of the facility. It was readily apparent that this section hadn't been completed, seeing as the floor panels were missing and lights were not on. Sean lead the way with the flashlight on his helmet.

After a few minutes, we stopped seeing any sort of construction work at all. Things were quiet.

"Shepard, and luck on your end yet?" Sean asked into the comm. "We got nothing but burned out walls around here."

There was no answer, as a vauge static could be heard.

"These walls must be interfering with the signal." Tali suggested, tapping out a few commands on her omni-tool.

"Addition: There seems to be another signal that is jamming our communications, master." HK said, stopping and looking at the walls. "This is odd, as it doesn't match the wavelengths that one would associate with a jamming device."

"Maybe it has something to do with the Reaper itself." I said, shining my Pulse Rifle at the walls.

"Either way, we need to keep moving." Sean urged, looking at the schematic on his omni-tool. "We should be getting closer to the-"

The entire room suddenly lurched as a quiet boom resonated through the reaper, knocking my footing off.

"What the hell was tha-"

Sean cut himself off as a Husk suddenly lunged at him, catching him off-guard.

"Jesus!" He shouted, as he fell over with the Husk on top of him. He quickly put two .500 rounds though its chest, as it fell backwards.

All hell broke loose afterwards. Husks stared coming from everywhere, the floor, the celing, even holes in the walls.

"I think we may have found the researchers!" I shouted, blasting away at three husks that attempted a bum rush on me.

"We've gotta get to the next section!" Sean shouted, loading more bullets into his .500 "Everybody, move your asses!"

We madly followed Sean as Husks continued to pour out of the walls. Jack launched a shockwave that knocked them over like bowling pins, helping to keep them away from us.

"There's the door to he atrium!" Sean shouted, quickly running up to the controls to enter some sort of code. "Shit, I think Cerberus changed the codes!"

"Out of the way!" Tali said, nudging past him to run a bypass, as me, Jack, and HK held down the fort.

"Warning: Hostiles are growing in number, master!" HK quickly said, as the bodies continued to pile up.

"Almost got it..." Tali said, as the door hissed and opened, revealing a bright airlock. "There!"

"Everyone inside!" Sean ordered over the gunfire, as we all backed up inside. The door began to close, as one of the husks threw themselves into the doorway, barely keeping ti from closing with it's long claws.

Sean put a single round from his .500 into it's snarling face, knocking it back into the rest of the approaching horde long enough for the door to seal. We all stood there, panting from the... ordeal.

"Well... that was fun." Jack said with a smile, looking up at me.

"Shut up." I said bluntly, as the other side doors slid open, revealing the atrium, which was filled with bullet-sponged husk corpses.

"It looks like Shepard has already been here." Sean deduced, picking up a steaming heat sink. "Let's see if we can catch up."

We ran through the large room with the dead researchers and dragon's teeth, into the airlock that lead to the exterior. After a quick cycle, we were greeted with high winds and more husks.

"Let's keep moving!" Sean shouted, putting down another husk as we rushed to catch up with Shepard.

Things moved pretty quickly from there. Jack devastated larger groups of husks with her shockwaves, as the rest of us mostly steamrolled. The sounds of gunfire in the distance did get louder though, as we eventually caught sight of Shepard, Grunt and Zaeed fighting off two Scions that were blocking off the airlock to the next area.

"Eat this, you ugly bastard!" Zaeed shouted, popping out of cover and tossing a grenade. It exploded, engulfing both of them in fire. Despite this, they kept creeping forward.

We all high-tailed it to Shepard's position, as Sean charged up and flung a wave of energy at our attackers. One of the Scions completely disintegrated, as the "cannon" on the other did the same, causing a thick, bluish blood to gush out of the wound.

"Nice of you to drop by!" Shepard said, as HK finished off the other Scion with a few heavy rounds. "Did you come across the IFF?"

"No, that entire section wasn't even furnished by Cerberus." Sean answered, holstering his Plasma Cutter. "What was that loud bang?"

"The reaper put it's mass effect fields up, trapping us inside and waking all the husks." Shepard explained, as we walked towards the door. "We need to destroy the core to bring them back down."

"So, where is this core?" I asked, walking alongside them.

"According to EDI, It should be on the other side of this airlock." Shepard said, opening the door. Inside, there was a small console with what looked like a rusted circuit board attached to it.

"Hey, is this it?" Jack asked, as Tali opened up the scans on the console.

"This does seem to be the IFF, and it is intact." Tali confirmed, as she unplugged it from the computer. "Now all we have to do is disable the core?"

"Yep." Sean agreed, taking out his BFG.

"What the hell is that supposed to be?" Zaeed asked, looking curiously at the weapon.

"You'll see." Sean answered with humor in his voice.

The door slid open, revealing a force field that blocked our entry into the room. On the other side of the field, however, there was a geth messing around with a control console. When several husks tried to jump it, it quickly spun around and put them down with a tiny pistol. After a few seconds, the field went down, as a husk knocked it out.

After putting down the husk, me and Sean walked over to the disabled geth. Just as I was about to shoot it, Sean yanked my rifle up and made me misfire.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I asked in anger, glaring at Sean.

"This geth let us inside... that was no mistake." He argued, pointing at the geth. "We're not doing any good my destroying it."

"Sean's right, that geth actually attempted to communicate with us." Shepard supported, looking down at the geth. "We're taking it with us."

"Are you sure, Shepard?" Tali asked, looking harder at her. "I mean... it's a GETH..."

Just then, more husks and abominations started climbing over the railings.

"We're taking it." Shepard said quickly with finality, as she signaled Grunt to haul it. "Sean, destroy that thing. Your team can come over to the Normandy for the time being."

"Sounds like a plan." He agreed, charging his BFG. "Weigman, tell Sydney to get our ship clear of the planet."

As I radioed in Sean's orders, he blew open the mass effect core like an egg with his BFG.

"Everybody move!" Shepard shouted, as my stomach lurched and the artificial gravity lost it's kick. Those of us without helmets quickly put them on.

We rushed outside, where the Normandy was just pulling up and the Spire blasted away. Me and Tali covered our rears as the others moved the geth and started jumping over to the Normandy's airlock.

"Come on, move!" Sean shouted, as the three of us made our leap of faith to the ship. I nearly tripped over as one of my feet missed the landing, but other than that everything was in order.

"Joker, we're clear!" Shepard announced, as the doors slid shut and we took off.

…

Sean's POV

After our... experience on the derelict reaper, Shepard instructed me to follow her to the briefing room. It took me a bit of time, but my adrenaline eventually calmed down enough for me to take in how cool it was to finally set foot on the SR-2.

After a few minutes of silence, Miranda and Jacob walked into the room. For approximately three seconds Miranda stood there, glaring at me, before she looked to Shepard.

"I heard we have... guests on board, Shepard." Miranda said bitterly with folded arms.

"That we do, Miranda." Shepard answered with a stern look. "And I hope you will treat them with gratitude."

"Of course, _Commander_." She replied, putting emphasis on Commander as she glared over at me.

"Look, Ms. Lawson, I have no desire in the slightest to be a "nuisance" to you right now." I said, hoping to break the ice. "Let's put the past behind us for a few moments so we can act like adults."

"Fine, but I still think your a threat to Cerberus." She agreed with an even thicker sense of bitterness in her voice, as she brought up a hologram of Legion in the middle of the table. "I think we need to discuss this unique piece of salvage we recovered. For now, we've stored it in EDI's AI core."

"You mean the Geth?" I asked, looking at it. "It doesn't look like just a chunk of metal to me."

"We need better equipment to fight the Reapers." Miranda continued, completely ignoring me. "An intact geth would be invaluable to Cerberus' cyberweapons division."

"We'll have to disagree on that, Ma'am." Jacob interrupted, leaning on the table. "I saw enough of these things on Eden Prime. Space it."

"Cerberus has a long-standing cash bounty for an intact geth." Miranda continued, looking at the hologram. "I assure you, the reward is significant."

"I disagree with both of you." I threw in, leaning on the table and looking at Shepard. "I think, we should turn it on, and talk to it."

"I've killed hundreds of these things, but I've never had the chance to talk to one." Shepard said, moving towards my suggestion. "This one tried to communicate with us. Hell, it probably saved our lives. Why?"

"Finding out is as easy as flipping the switch, Shepard." I urged further, as Miranda walked closer.

"Reactivating the geth is a risk." She argued, looking at me. "If Shepard does so, it should be for humanity's best interests and not your childish curiosity."

"I still think our "best interests" involve and airlock." Jacob quickly said before I could reply to Miranda.

"I'm not deciding one way or another until I know what we got here." Shepard said, giving me a wink as she looked between Jacob and Miranda. "I want to start it up. Interrogate it."

"If we activate it, there's no guarantee that we can deactivate it again." Miranda said, taking a step forward and leaning against the table.

"Bullets can." Jacob quickly added, looking harder at me and Miranda.

"That's not what I-"

"Thank you - all three you – for your recommendations." Shepard halted quickly. "I've made my decision."

"Man, my girlfriend is going to flip out when she hears about this..." I said humorously, as Jacob switched the hologram to that of the IFF.

"So what about this Reaper IFF?" Jacob asked, as we looked at it.

"I have determined how to integrate it with our systems However, the device is Reaper technology." EDI said, as her little blue avatar appeared above the table. "Linking it with the Normandy's systems poses certain risks."

"I trust you, EDI. I know you won't let anything happen to the ship." Shepard said with confidence, standing up straight.

"Understood, Shepard." EDI confirmed. "It may take several hours before the IFF is ready for shakedown. I will alert you as soon as it is ready."

"Sound good." Shepard agreed, nodding his head. "Until then, it's business as usual. Crew dismissed."

As Miranda and Jacob walked out, me and Shepard stood there in silence for a few moments.

"Alright, come with me." Shepard said with a tap on the arm, as we quickly made our way through the armory and into the elevator. "You and I are going to find out if saving that geth was worth it."

…

**A/N: Well, the team has endured the derilect Reaper, and are soon going to be introduced to Legion. The Mass Effect 2 story arc of The Odd Ones Out is inching closer and closer.**

**On a completely different note, school is out, and I have an extremely erratic, part-time job that involves working on people's yards. Landscaping, basically. This means both more time for writing, and more moolah in me pocket. :P Expect more chapters during the summer.**

**Anyways, please remember to fav and write a review on my story, It really helps! This is GIR, signing off!**


	65. Revelations

Sean's POV

Shepard and I walked though the medical bay, where I quickly greeted Dr. Chakwas. We then proceeded into the AI core, where Legion was lying inert over the careful eyes of a guard.

"Ten-hut!" He greeted, as we both approached.

"I'm turning the geth back on. Be ready." Shepard said, looking at both of us.

"Aye aye." The guard agreed, as Shepard erected a force field.

"I have isolated our systems and erected additional firewalls." EDI said in her disembodied voice. "I am prepared to resist any hacking attempts."

The two of us walked closer, as Shepard sent an electrical jumpstart into Legion. After a few quiet, uneventful moments, Legion stood up and faced Shepard at the very edge of the forcefield. Shepard looked hard at him.

"Can you understand me?" Shepard asked, standing straight.

"Yes." Legion answered, in his robotic tone.

"Are you going to attack us?" I asked, shifting it's attention.

"No." He answered again, as Shepard and I looked at each other.

"You said my name on-board the Reaper." Shepard pointed out, looking back to Legion. "Have we met?"

"We know of you both." Legion replied after a few seconds of silence.

"You mean we've fought a lot of geth." Shepard said again, looking quickly back at me.

"We have never met." Legion replied simply, staring between me and Shepard.

"No, the two of us haven't. But we've met other geth." Shepard corrected, stepping closer to Legion.

"We are all geth, and we haven't met either of you." Legion replied, following Shepard's moments as she walked. "You are Shepard. Commander. Alliance. Human. Fought heretics. Killed by Collectors. Rediscovered on Old Machine.

Then Legion stopped and looked at me.

"You are Sean. Commander. Mercenary. Human. Fought heretics and Cerberus. Ally of Shepard." Legion listed off, raising my eyebrows.

"I'm pretty sure I'm not a commander." I said, failing to decide on what else I COULD say, seeing how surprised I was by this turn of events.

"You command you vessel and crew, leading them against Cerberus and the Old Machines." Legion said, his "eye" focusing more on me. "Classification was deemed "appropriate."

"Old Machines?" Shepard asked, confused. "You mean the Reapers?"

"Reaper. A superstitious title originating with the Protheans. We call those entities the Old Machines." Legion explained, looking between me and Shepard.

"You seem to know an awful lot about us." I said, crossing my arms as I scrutinized him.

"Extranet data sources. Insecure broadcast. All organic data sent out is received. We watch you." Legion listed off, his "eye" focusing on me.

"You watch just us, or you watch all organics?" I asked, pacing as I kept focused on him.

"Yes." He answered quickly.

"Which?" I asked again, looking back at Shepard.

"Both." He answered again. Looking back to Shepard.

"Wait, what did you mean by "heretics?" Shepard asked, taking another step towards Legion.

"Geth build our own future. The heretics asked the Old Machines to give them the future." Legion said with a more subtle tone drop. "They are no longer part of us. We were studying the Old Machine's hardware to protect our future."

"So you aren't allied with the Reapers?" Shepard asked, looking back at me again.

"We oppose the heretics. We oppose the Old Machines." Legion said, taking a few steps forward and looking at us with a more focused eye. "Shepard-Commander and Sean-Commander oppose the Old Machines. Shepard-Commander and Sean-Commander oppose the heretics. Cooperation furthers mutual goals."

"Heh, are you saying you wanna join our crazy band of misfits?" I asked, leaning against the server as I looked between Shepard and Legion.

"Yes." Legion confirmed, staring at us both.

"Then what should we call you?" Shepard asked, bringing down the forcefield with his omni-tool.

"Geth." Legion replied rather bluntly, staring at Shepard.

"I meant you, specifically." Shepard corrected, as Legion copied her movements.

"We are all Geth." Legion replied nonchalantly.

"What is the individual in front of me called?" Shepard reiterated, crossing her arms.

"There is no individual. We are all Geth." Legion restated, staring sternly at Shepard. "There are currently 1,183 programs active within this platform."

"My name is Legion, for we are many." EDI quoted, appearing in front of me.

"Well, that works." Shepard said casually, looking approvingly at EDI.

"Hey, I remember that passage!" I said with some enthusiasm to EDI, as some of my old religious education seeped into the situation. "That's from the Gospel of Mark, right?"

"Yes." Legion confirmed, his head flaps opening up. "Christian Bible, Gospel of Mark, chapter five, verse nine. We acknowledge this as an appropriate metaphor. We are Legion, a terminal of the geth. We will integrate into Normandy."

After that, Shepard held out her hand to shake Legion's. After a short pause of them holding out their hands, Shepard grasped his hand and shook it.

"We anticipate the exchange of data." Legion said, as I held out my hand as well. This time, Legion quickly accepted the gesture and seized my hand with a death grip. If my right arm wasn't a robotic replacement, he might have crushed my fingers.

"Well... It's nice to meet you too." I said with a small smile, as the artificial nerves in my arm screamed.

…

After finally getting to meet Legion, me and Shepard walked to the mess hall. Shepard greeted those she hadn't met in person before, then, I asked her for a private talk. We made our way to the empty observation deck.

"What do you need to discuss, Sean?" She asked, folding her arms at the door slid shut.

"I was curious... can you directly contact the Illusive Man?" I asked, looking around the room, knowing that there were bugs all over the ship.

"I can see where this is going." Shepard said with a slightly more no-nonsense look on her face. "...Yeah, I'd have to get Miranda to send the request through but... are you really sure you want to do that?"

"Why wouldn't I?" I asked, looking out the window. "After everything he did to me and my friends, this is the closest I've ever gotten to being able to talk to him on neutral grounds."

"I understand, It's just... I don't want any repercussions for you and your team." She said, placing her hand on my shoulder. "My word is barely keeping Miranda away from you, let alone TIM. Once this mission is over, I have no doubt he'll try coming after you again."

"Yeah... you may be right... but this might be the closest I'll ever come to getting real answers from him." I replied, pacing back and fourth. "I understand your concern, but I really want to do this."

Shepard looked between me and the window for a minute, before letting out a big sigh.

"Alright, I'll see if I can get you set up." Shepard finally agreed, nodding. "Wait in the mess while I speak to Miranda."

"Thank you, Shepard." I agreed, was we walked out.

…

TIM had just finished reviewing a report from another cell, when Miranda Lawson contacted him.

"Yes, Lawson?" TIM asked, answering the call.

"_Commander Shepard and one of her... crewmembers, would like to speak to you._" Lawson said with some uncertainty. "_Shall I patch them into the QEC?_"

TIM took a moment to light up a new cigarette, taking a drag and exhaling before answering.

"Very well." TIM said with some reluctance, as the smoke drifted around him.

Miranda's communication cut off, as the QEC began loading up. Instead of Shepard, one other person appeared in front of him, causing him to pause for a while in deliberation before reacting.

"Well, well, well..." TIM said, taking another drag before continuing. "Isn't this a surprise."

"Hello, Jack." I replied with crossed arms, staring into TIM's eyes.

"Once again, your team seems to be mysteriously well-informed." TIM replied calmly, knocking ashes off of his cigarette. "I'm still curious as to how you know that."

"So...why?" I asked in a more focused tone. "Why have you and your damned organization put me and my friends through so much hell these past years?"

"I'll tell you the same thing I told your friend, Allen, on the space station you and your troublesome friends destroyed." TIM replied with a small hint of anger. "You six are the most unknown and dangerous factors Cerberus has ever encountered."

"Certainly you've had better things to worry about over the last few years." I reasoned. "Why us?"

"That would normally be the case, but you six are different." TIM argued, pouring some brandy into his glass. "Two and a half years ago, shortly after the attack on Eden Prime, you and your two friends, Allen and Thomas appeared out of nowhere on the Citadel, loaded up with money and equipment. By all regards, you three never existed before then. No prior records of any kind, no background info, all we had was video footage."

TIM then opened up an interface, scrolling to a video and opening it.

I watched, between horror and amazement, as I saw footage of the room we had first ended up in. At first, there was nothing, but then there was a bright flash, followed by heavy static on the camera feed. As it cleared up, it revealed the three of us sprawled out on the floor, immobile.

"Yes, quite unusual, isn't it?" TIM continued, closing the video. "Now why don't you tell me how you ended up here?"

"I... have no idea what you are talking about." I denied, looking down at the projector.

I was trying to hide it, but for the first time in a LONG time, I was experiencing full-blown panic. I could feel two sets of eyes digging into my head, both Shepard's eyes from the back, and TIM's from the front. I, for the first time in a while, had no idea what to do.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." TIM pushed, standing up and walking towards me. "You and your friends were never meant to be here. I want you to tell me how you ended up here, and how you got the powers you wield."

"I'll never tell you a damn thing." I finished, before walking off of the projector. I took one, defeated look at Shepard before I stormed off. I barely made it to the elevator before tears started rolling out of my eyes.

TIM smiled wickedly, drinking down all his brandy in one swig. He had won.

…

About ten minutes later, I heard the elevator door to the hanger open. I was camped out behind one of the air conditioning units, sitting on the ground, trying to piece together what had just happened.

Of course, I knew it was Shepard, but I almost felt like opening the airlock once I saw who else was with her.

It was Tali.

"Sean... are you alright?" Shepard asked, her and Tali walking around the unit to look at me.

"Yeah... I guess you could say that." I replied sheepishly, nudging my helmet with my foot. "So... I suppose I have some explaining to do, huh?"

"Well... I don't even know where to start..." Shepard started, but coming to a loss of words.

"Listen, I'll tell you everything, but... it needs to be somewhere without any of these damned Cerberus bugs." I explained, picking up one that I had found in the elevator and smashing it.

"The shuttle is clean." She told me, holding out her hand to me. I accepted it, and she pulled me back up. "Come on."

After she lowered the Kodiak, the three of us went inside, and I began pouring over everything, for the first time since being in this... universe. By all regards, I was completely breaking the oath me, Thomas and Allen had established, but I couldn't see keeping silent about it any longer.

I started with the day it all happened, when we ended up in this world, to the credits, joining up with Shepard, the months leading up to his defeat, the Protheans,

During it all, Shepard and Tali sat there mostly in silence, only stopping me to ask a question every once and a while. The only thing that I didn't tell them, was that I knew Shepard was going to die. I still couldn't bring myself to say that I knew she was going to die.

About an hour later, when I finished, we all sat there in silence for a few minutes. Shepard was the one to break the silence.

"Sean... if that had come from anyone other than you, I would have them ordered to a mental facility." Shepard said with an exhausted look on her face.

"I don't blame you." I agreed, without looking up.

"So... my father was... really meant to die aboard the Alarei?" Tali said with some hesitation, looking harder at me.

"Yeah, he was supposed to die." I replied quietly, looking down at the floor again in an effort to hid my emotions. "Man, I must seem like the worst person in the world right now..."

"While I understand your reasoning behind what you did, I still found it hard to believe you didn't tell us about this sooner." Shepard reasoned, looking at me with the most... uncertain expression I've ever seen.

"Well... I really have no other excuse." I admitted, looking at Tali. "I was so scared of the consequence that I didn't think to even try looking past the rest..."

"Sean... it's alright." Tail comforted, walking over and sitting next to me. "I've known you long enough to know you had the best intentions."

"But, that's the problem!" I said, starting to get tears in my eyes again. "There was so much I could have prevented... I could have saved Kaidan's life... I could have given those people on the Alarei a warning..."

"Sean, it's alright." Shepard reassured, looking over at me.

"No, it's not!" I said with a mixture of anger and sadness, leaning back up to face her. "By all regards, I killed all those people by refusing to act with the knowledge we had!"

"Then what you should do is make amends." Shepard suggested, leaning forward. "Use what knowledge you have left to help those around you."

I dwelled on this for a good three minutes, before I looked back up at Shepard, then to Tali.

"You're right." I agreed, my eye finally clearing up. "Um... well, in a little while, Legion will be telling you about a mission he wants you to go on in heretic space. After that, EDI will begin testing on the Reaper IFF."

"Alright, what happens from there?" She asked, looking harder at me.

"The IFF will take control of the Normandy's systems, disabling it's engines and leaving the ship open to a massive Collector raid." I explained carefully, as Shepard leaned back and took a deep breath. "I was actually planning to break part of my oath to prevent that one."

"That makes me feel better." Shepard replied with some sarcasm. "What next?"

"Well, all the "party members" go off on a shuttle, while the attack occurs." I continued, thinking hard. "Joker ends up being the only survivor because he unshackles EDI's AI core, then restarts the power core, allowing her to overpower the IFF and take control of the ship again."

Shepard got a slightly surprised expression on her face.

"Don't worry, she's completely trust-worthy." I assured to both of them. "But, the rest of the crew get's abducted... then you attack the collectors through the relay."

"Well... I guess it's time to formulate a new plan." Shepard said with finality, standing up. "But, I think it's safe to say we shouldn't speak to anyone else about this."

"Agreed." I finished, as we opened the hatch.

…

**A/N: This chapter took a lot of time to work out, and I'm still not satisfied with how I did it.**

**So, Sean finally spilled the beans. Things will be different from here on out, and I'm looking forward to writing things as they begin changing, for however long that lasts with the advent of Mass Effect 3. Also, I apologize for how long it took for the new chapter, life, to say the least, is a fickle bitch, and to add salt to the wound, I've been drained of both motivation, and inspiration.**

**Oh, and congratulations to nickobanion for being the ONLY PERSON to demand a new chapter. Good joooooob...**


	66. Medical Matters

**A/N: You know, it's really funny... I just discovered a few days ago that the Normandy SR-2, a frigate, is roughly 200 meters in length. But, the Endar Spire, a _Hammerhead_-class cruiser, is actually 315 meters long.**

**My ship is over 100 meters longer. I've been wasting SO many opportunities to exploit the size of this vessel... XD**

**Regardless... I think I'll have a bit more fun with the good'old design once Mass Effect 3 rolls around...**

…

As the hatch opened, I saw two quick shimmers near the edge of the shuttle. I knew what this was almost immediately. Cloaking fields.

"Oh, very funny." I said out loud, looking up the side. "Weigman, is that you with Kasumi?"

"You know who I am?" Kasumi quipped, as she and Weigman appeared, sitting leisurely on top of the shuttle. "Man, that took all the fun out of this..."

"Good job, Sean..." Weigman said with some annoyance, crossing his arms.

"I thought I told you to stay in the mess, Weig." I said with a small smile, crossing my arms.

"Yeah... but then I got really bored... I took a walk, then I met Ms. Goto here." Weigman explained, pointing his thumb at Kasumi. "We have a lot in common."

"You better not tell Sydney that you were hanging out with your opposite." I said with seriousness, arms still crossed. "Were you two eavesdropping?"

"No, we were just exploring the ship." Kasumi said with innocence, looking at Weigman who smiled.

"Kasumi, you know you make Joker upset when you do that." Shepard chastised, standing next to me.

"Hey, I would never steal anything important." Kasumi said with even more innocence, as the intercom pinged.

"_Shepard, are you down there?_" Joker's voice echoed through the hanger.

"Yeah, I'm here, Joker." Shepard confirmed, looking up. "What's wrong?"

"_That Geth we picked up, Legion, it wants to talk to you and Sean again._" He explained, as me, Shepard, and Tali gave each other looks.

"We'll be up shortly." Shepard agreed, ash the intercom went dead and she looked at Weigman and Kasumi. "You two are also coming back to the crew deck with us."

After a short ride, Shepard and I walked back to the AI core, where Legion was standing idle. After a short conversation with him, Shepard announced we were going on another mission, whilst giving me that new look that she had seemed to develop. I took the time to find a quiet spot in the other observation deck and finally call home.

"Ok... run the scrambler... and we are in business." I said to myself, as I made a solid connection to the Endar Spire. "This is Zeus, you readin' me, Mother Goose?"

"_Loud and clear, Zeus._" Sydney's voice answered slowly from the other end. "_We were wondering why it was taking so long for you to call._"

"Eh... there's been some... developments." I said, still wary, considering this room was likely bugged. "Did the old bird take any damage in the escape?"

"_There was no detectable damage, from what Bastila has told us._" She answered, pausing for a moment. "Wait, w_hat kind of developments are we talking about here?_"

"The kind that I can't talk openly about at the moment." I explained with discretion. "It turns out we need to go into Geth space for something important, so stay at Delta until we're done there."

"_You'll be coming to us, I presume?_" Sydney guessed, sounding tired.

"Yeah, we'll meet up with you at Delta." I agreed, staring out the window at the passing stars.

"_Right, Mother Goose, out._" Sydney finished, as the line went dead.

…

Several Hours Later

Once firmly docked to the station, I lit up a small arc welder and began to cut though the airlock. Shepard, Tali and Legion were all waiting behind me, Tali still trying to cope with the idea of being in the presence of a peaceful geth.

I wouldn't blame her for being wary of me, too. I knew I had a lot of making up to do before either Shepard or Tali would trust my ass again.

After cutting through, the center portion of the airlock slowly drifted away, small bits of superheated metal floating around like molten raindrops. I gently landed, checking the corners before signaling that the coast was clear.

"Now, you're sure that they can't detect us?" I asked, as Legion landed on the floor.

"The "junk data" we are currently flooding their sensors with will isolate any security breaches to individual rooms." Legion explained, taking out a Widow. "Only if we access the main core will a station-wide alert be broadcast."

"Alright, let's get moving." Shepard ordered, turning to lead.

At that point, I stopped listening as Legion started explaining the destroying vs. re-programming thing to Shepard. Despite how I already told Shepard about this, she seemed fazed nevertheless.

After exiting the main airlock room, we encountered our first room. I turned on my flashlight, as we avoided the room's security sensors and got ready to tackle the node the "sleeping" geth were currently plugged into. I signaled for everyone to stop, as I unhooked one of Allen's EMP grenades from under my duster.

Shepard shook her head in approval as I armed and tossed the grenade. It emit a quick burst of energy, that quickly fried the geth, still attached to their node.

"Easy as could be." I commented with an unseen smile, plucking the suspended grenade out of the air. I removed the ruined heat sink, adding a brand-new one.

We went deeper into the station, avoiding security and other counter measures. It was quite boring, so I decided to strike up a conversation.

"So, what kind of adventures have you been having, Shepard?" I asked, maneuvering around some debris. "Run across anymore biotic extremists or giant silver spheres while getting your side of the team together?"

"Um... no biotics, but oddly enough I did find another one of those Prothean artifacts." She said, as we walked pass another server room. "It was inside an abandoned Prothean ruin on the planet Kopis. Now it's inside my quarters."

"Cool deal." I replied, as we opened a large set of doors that revealed a larger room outfitted with turrets.

We sneaked past the security systems, setting ourselves up as close as possible to the hubs. This wasn't going to be a stealthy as the first chamber.

"Tali, you hack the geth over at that hub, and I'll do the same for this one." I said quickly, pointing with my fingers while ducked behind a crate.

"Gotcha." She agreed, as we both nodded to each other and looked to Shepard, who gave an approving nod as well.

The fight lasted a mere ten seconds, as the corrupted geth quickly charged each other, blowing themselves to pieces.

"Well... that kinda took the fun out of it..." I commented casually, as we left the room.

We eventually reached the main core, where Legion once again explained Shepard's options. While he was doing that, I deployed a Mantis sniper rifle that I had borrowed from the Normandy's armory on the railing overlooking the bottom of the core.

Shepard, of course, chose to reprogram the geth, and not even thirty seconds after legion began his upload, dozens of the geth began to pour out of the doors on the far side of the room. Luckily, due to the vantage point and the turrets around the room, we were able to keep any geth from even reaching the stairs.

After a few minutes, we hauled ass through the corridors to our airlock, running and gunning everything in our path. The Prime at the end would have given us a little trouble, though that didn't come to fruition after one vaporizing blast from my eezo emitter.

The four of us barged through the airlock, me and Tali tripping and falling as soon as the artificial gravity kicked in. The escape went smoothly from there, as Joker sped us away, a large electrical storm emitting violently from the station.

"Well... that went a lot better than I expected." I quipped, standing up as the airlock went through it's cycles.

"You think so?" Tali replied playfully, retrieving her shotgun as I pulled her back up. "I thought so too."

"Well, what next?" I asked, looking at Shepard.

"I suppose we'll meet up with your ship." Shepard replied, as the airlock finally opened. "You really think your plan will work?"

"It should." I answered quickly. "A pox upon me if it somehow doesn't."

"Fair enough." Shepard agreed, as she walked over to Joker, handing him an OSD. "Joker, this is where we're going next. Follow these coordinates exactly."

"Aye aye." He replied with a slightly confused look as we all walked away.

"I should check on my team, see you guys later." I commented, taking off my helmet.

I thought about Tali and Legion's face-off, remembering that I had neglected to tell either Shepard or Tali about it.

"_I'll just have to deal with it when the time comes._" I thought quietly to myself, as I walked to the armory and returned the sniper rifle to Jacob.

"She worked like a charm, Taylor." I said with another wide-grinned smile.

"Heh, so you liked the hammerhead and armor-piercing combo I put in there?" He replied, grabbing the rifle and extending it. "It was tricky, balancing them so they wouldn't melt the rifle."

"I don't know how you did it, but it worked tremendously well." I complimented, shaking his hand. "You'll have to share that with my friend Allen one day, he loves this kind of shit."

"I'll keep it in mind." He finished, as I walked away. Halfway through the room, something popped into my head that I just realized I hadn't thought about. I had to go see Mordin.

I walked though the center hallway and into the medlab, where Mordin Solus was typing away at his console.

"Ah, you are Sean, correct?" Mordin asked me quickly, looking up at me from his console.

"Yes, it's good to meet you, Doctor." I confirmed, walking over and shaking his hand. "I was told you were the one behind the seeker swarm repellent we used on Horizon."

"Yes, quite challenging, not many seekers to run tests on, even fewer people to... test it's effectiveness." He quickly recalled, looking away and then back to me. "Very grateful for the results you sent me after the mission."

"No problem." I quickly said with a smile, as I set my helmet down on his table. Mordin, seeing it, quickly picked it up, looking at it from multiple angles. "Whoa doc, be careful with that!"

"Interesting design, very durable, worn, combat effective from the looks of it... your own design?" He quickly inspected, looking back at me.

"Well, I came up with the design, the helmet itself was built in a armor shop on the Citadel before Saren and Sovereign attacked it." I explained, showing him the engraved signature around the rim of the interior. "The shop was destroyed, and it's owners were killed in the attack."

"A shame, individual who made this was skilled." He said with a saddened tone, looking between me and the helmet. "Strange... do you modify this helmet very often?"

"Not recently... why?" I questioned, crossing my arms and staring him down.

"I have some... upgrade ideas, would be so willing." He said with a small grin, looking at the helmet. "Efficiency of this design could be improved on."

Mordin had completely dumbfounded me, which was actually quite the surprise. I wasn't sure what to say...

"Umm... I suppose you could tinker with my helmet." I caved in, leaning on the table. "But don't mess anything up, I only have one."

"Don't worry, utmost care will be taken." He said with a smile, setting it down on the workbench behind him.

"Wait... before you do that, Mordin, I have... something else to ask you." I said with some hesitation, leaning over his table.

"Of course, how can I help?" He quickly refocused, turning back to me.

I found myself unable to ask him my question. The words were simply stuck in my throat.

"Hm, blush response... are you embarrassed to ask me your question?" Mordin asked, walking closer.

"Uh, kinda." I let slip out, as I looked back down.

"No worry, will not say anything to the rest of crew, or mock, if that is what you fear." He assured, as I looked back up. "You have my word as a physician."

"Ok... I wanted to know... what would have to happen in order for me and Tali to have a more... physical relationship?" I slowly worded out, as a small smile emitted from Mordin's face.

"Ah, I see." He said, as I straightened myself up. "Well... past relationship with Tali'Zorah makes dalliance... attractive as stress release. Still, recommend caution, quarian immune system weak, could kill her."

"Wait, how did you know about me and Tali's past relationship?" I asked, perplexed by his explanation.

"Shepard explained, told me about the original mission on the Normandy, past relationships and all." Mordin explained in a serious tone, looking me in the eyes. "She... requested something earlier."

"Well, that sneaky devil." I said to myself, shaking my head before looking back to Mordin. "Alright then, so do you have a recommendation as a doctor?"

"Recommend you self-sterilize, oral contact with tissue dangerous, be cautious." Mordin explained, walking back and forth as he spoke. "Not really my specialty, to be honest, will find useful diagrams and videos to send you."

"Whoa... that's taking it a bit far, doc." I commented, as I felt my cheeks light on fire again.

"Regardless, important if you plan to pursue physical relationship with Tali'Zorah." He nodded, with another small smile. "Enjoy yourself while you can, Sean, will be here, working on your helmet, less alcohol and... mood music required."

After my rather perplexing conversation with Mordin, I walked up to the bridge, where Joker was idling in his chair.

"Hey there, Joker." I greeted, taking a casual seat in the chair across from him.

"Oh, he shows his face!" He replied sarcastically, smiling, then stopping. "What happened to your eyes?"

"Oh, them, they were repaired with some cybernetics." I said, holding my hand in front of my face. "They were badly damaged after my run-in with Cerberus last year."

"And now your on one of their ships." He commented, looking forward. "Crazy world we live in, huh?"

"You're telling me." I agreed, leaning back. "Doesn't seem like it'll be stopping anytime soon."

"Yeah..." Joker finished, before asking me another question. "Hey, how big is that ship of yours, that hammerhead?"

"Um... about 300 meters long, I think." I answered, leaning back up.

"The Alliance "Hammerhead" Exploration Ship is approx. 315 meters long." EDI corrected, her icon popping up on the other side of the bridge.

"Thanks, EDI." I said in a sarcastic tone. "Anyways, why did you want to know, Joker."

"I always heard the Hammerheads were built with a big chamber in the center where they could do research in a zero-gee environment, or just float around." Joker said, gesturing with his hands. "Does your ship still have it?"

"I see what you're getting at." I said with a smile. "Yes, our ship still has that chamber, though I had to lock it up ever since Thomas and Allen tried playing "Dead Space Basketball" in there. I'm guessing you want to use it."

"Hell yeah I want to use it!" Joker confirmed with a big smile. "Inside one of those babies, I can float around without one of those damn vacuum suits. It really makes my bones feel better."

"Sure, I suppose next time we get a chance you can use it for a while." I agreed with a smile, as my omni-tool began beeping loudly.

"Uh oh." Joker said, looking at me.

"What's wrong, Shepard?" I asked after answering the emergency call.

"_You need to get down to the AI core, now._" Shepard said bluntly, ending the call.

"See ya, Joker." I finished, jumping out of the chair and running to the elevator.

…

**In other news, I'm kinda angry with how I breezed over Legion's section of this chapter, but it has been two weeks since I had even WORKED on the story. I honestly just didn't want to go through someone's play-though on YouTube and copy the dialogue between Legion and Shepard.**

**Oh, one more thing, I'll officially be 18 by the time the next chapter comes out. Fun times ahead, so don't expect a new chapter soon.**

**Don't forget to leave a review and fav my story, this is GIR, signing out.**


	67. The Truth and the Storm

**A/N: I apologize implicitly for the sudden jump the story takes halfway through the chapter, I've been stuck on this chapter for two months, and I finally said "fuck it" and continued the story. I would had explained more, but I just froze up on all of it, and lost the will to work on it more.**

...

Allen's POV

"_Allen, are you inside that chamber again?_" I heard Sydney ask through the intercom, as I floated around weightlessly.

"Yes, mooom." I answered sarcastically, propelling myself to the comm panel. "Why, is something wrong?"

"_No, I just wanted to tell you that the Normandy is going to arrive soon._" She said with crossed arms. "_And you know how bitchy Sean gets whenever someone goes into that zero-g room._"

"Yeah yeah, I'll leave in a little bit." I agreed, crossing my arms as I stared at her. "Are we still going to battle stations once they get back?"

"_I don't think so, to be honest... although he did sound nervous about something during his last call._" She explained, looking away from the screen in thought. "_I think he might have messed something up._"

"Well, in that case, we should be extra careful." I suggested, nodding my head to her. "We don't need to be at our battle stations, but make sure everyone is suited up and armed, as the least."

"_Got it._" She agreed, cutting the feed. I grabbed my boots, quickly re-entering the gravity and running to my room. I grabbed another little "device" that I had been working on during the downtime.

Not even a minute after walking out of my room, I heard Bastila announce the arrival of the Normandy. I got to the primary airlock with John and HK-47 before they docked.

"So... you feelin' as nervous as me right now, dude?" John asked, staring at the airlock with his hands folded nervously behind his back.

"Yeah, kinda." I agreed, staring at the airlock as well as the docking tube started pressurizing. "Even with Sean and Shepard over there... I dunno."

"We're not going to let any of them on, right?" John asked, still staring at the airlock.

"If we end up having to, HK and Bastila will keep a very close eye on them." I reassured, looking over at HK. "Right?"

"Suggestion: Why don't we just kill the meatbags, master?" HK asked in his usual tone. "The tension they give you decreases your combat effectiveness by an average of 27%."

"I wish we could, HK, but we just can't." I said with some exhaustion, as the docking tube finally stabilized.

"Statement: Very well, master, though if you change your mind, I will be happy to kill any of them for you." HK reiterated with some more pride, as the airlock opened, revealing Shepard, Sean, Tali, Weigman, and everyone else who had gone on the Reaper with Sean.

"Well, have fun in Geth space?" I greeted, as Sean and Shepard stepped in, followed by everyone else.

"Mostly. Could have been better." Sean said nervously, adjusting his belt. "Allen, call a meeting, we all need to have a discussion."

"Sure thing." I agreed, looking at everyone. "HK, stay here and guard the airlock. We don't need any unwelcome guests aboard out ship."

…

Sean's POV

"So, the cat's out of the bag, huh?" Allen said with a disapproving glance, as everyone stared me down all around the table. Not only were all my friends here, but also Shepard and Tali.

"Yeah, apparently TIM managed to locate a video recording of us first arriving here three years ago." I explained, leaning against the table in thought. "I have no idea how, but he has it."

"So you already heard about our crazy little journey, huh?" John asked with folded arms, looking over at Shepard and Tali, who nodded.

"Well, we can all tell you, what Sean said is absolutely true." Sydney reassured, staring over at them. "Me, John and Weigman ended up here looking for them in our "dimension". Got rescued by some unstable quarian merc after being taken prisoner by batarian slavers."

"This is all so... weird." Tali said, rubbing the top of her helmet. "As far a science goes, all this should be impossible."

"You think we don't know that as well?" Thomas explained with folded arms. "In our world, we have no such thing a eezo, biotics, or even ruins on Mars! We haven't even returned to the moon after the Apollo missions!"

"We really don't get it either." John simplified, leaning against the wall. "Whatever had the power to send us here... it's got to be more powerful than eezo, or even nuclear power."

"Eezo is already more powerful than nuclear, genius." Sydney corrected quietly.

"You know what I mean." John rebuked in a similar tone.

"Either way, by this point, it doesn't really matter." I refocused, putting my hands on the table. "We need to worry about defeating the Reapers."

"Very well, then." Shepard agreed, nodding her head. "What were you planning for this IFF situation, Sean?"

"Alright..." I started, thinking hard. "So, when EDI starts testing the IFF, it disables the engines, so a Collector ship can roll in and steal the crew. My plan was to unshackle EDI from the safeguards Cerberus put on her. After that-"

"Wait, you want to UNSHAKLE an AI?" Tali objected, standing up.

"Tali, calm down, she's not going to go crazy, or... start singing daisy bell." I talked down, holding up my hands. "Once she has control, all someone has to do is restart the drive core so she can make the escape."

"...alright." Tali agreed grudgingly, sitting back down in her chair.

"Are you absolutely sure about this, Sean?" Shepard asked, staring hard. "I don't need any surprises occurring after everything else that's happened..."

"I haven't seen anything to suggest this changing." I said with honesty, looking hard at her. "There would only be one other hitch to this..."

A few hours later...

Luckily for all of us, including the whole crew of the Normandy, my plan worked well. The moment we had EDI activate the IFF, we gave her control and reset the drive core. Yes, there was a TON of objections from Miranda, and, of course, Tali, but in the end, we blasted to another system just as the Collector ship jumped over.

Shepard and everyone else congratulated my plan, as we quickly devised our plan from there. We decided that we would all board the Normandy to assault the Collector base once we reached the Omega 4 relay, meaning Bastila wouldn't be able to come. I apologized several times before she told us she understood, and good luck on our mission.

It would take a few hours before we got there, so we all had some time to dwell on everything. Or to pray, like I decided to do.

I knelt down in front of my bed, holding my hands together as I prayed for the first time in three years. I had to admit, I wasn't the best example of a catholic even before we ended up here, and even though I still had my doubts, I figured It wouldn't do any harm.

As I closed my eyes, I thought back to home once again. I remembered the breezes flowing through the trees in the summer, to the beautiful sheets of snow that fell in the winter. Home, friends, family...

My reflections were stopped as I heard my door open. I turned to see Tali, who looked as me with what I was guessing to be confusion.

"Um... what are you doing?" She asked nervously, as I stood up and placed my holy necklace back on the table.

"Eh, I was praying; was brought up as a Catholic back on Earth." I said, walking over to her and giving her a hug. "Now... are you sure about this, Tali?"

"Well... I've taken some antibiotics, as well as some... herbal supplements that should bolster my immune system." She explained with slow deliberation, holding my hands. "I was going to bring music, but..."

"You didn't know what I liked?" I said with a smile, as her eyes got wide.

"That... is really weird." She replied with a small bit of humor in her voice.

"Don't worry, I won't be doing it for long." I assured with an even wider smile, as I gave her another, longer hug. "This will be alright, Tali."

"I just don't want to... I want this to work." She started saying faster, as she looked into my eyes. "I've thought it over. I've minimized the risks. But I'm still nervous."

"It always makes me talk to much, it's a defense mechanism, and it's stupid, and..." She continued to say quickly as we both sat down on the end of my bed. "People who... who just see the helmet can't see my expression, so I have to make it clear... what i'm..."

She quietly paused as I placed my hands underneath her helmet, unhooking the seals, and pulling the faceplate off.

"...feeling..."

She was absolutely beautiful. She had small, glowing freckles around the top of her cheeks, complementing her striking eyes. Small strands of hair drifted in front of her pale face, which surprised me.

I didn't have much of a chance to gaze more at her before she pushed me backwards and kissed me.

…

Several Hours Later

As we all gathered our gear and walked into the Normandy, I took one last look at the inside of the ship before sealing the airlock with a sharp hiss. Tali and I looked at each other, causing me to embarrassingly blush underneath my helmet as the decontamination sequence rolled on.

"So... was there anything funny going on during our trip?" Allen asked with a sly look on his face, as he turned to face us.

"Wouldn't you like to know, Allen." Sydney mocked with a small bit of humor, causing Allen to flip around and face her instead.

"Wait... what?" He said in confusion, as Sydney and Weigman looked at each other and smiled before Weig slipped on his recon hood. "You two... huh?"

"I see you do a good job of keeping up on current events, Allen." Thomas mocked as well, revealing one of the biggest smiles I have ever witnessed. Thane also smiled silently.

Me and Tali started laughing, as Sydney and John joined in. Allen had the most damned confused look on his face that I had ever seen.

"Man, screw you guys." He replied bitterly, crossing his arms.

"It is only natural." Samara calmly remarked, looking between me and Sydney. "I slept with many mercenaries during my younger years exploring the galaxy."

Everyone paused to look at her for a second, until Jack spoke up.

"Wait, you four fucked like bunnies while I sat around and did nothing?" Jack remarked with some disgust in her voice as she looked between me, Tali, Weigman, and Sydney. "Damn, now I have way too many images in my head..."

"Too much information for you, Jack?" John teased, cracking his neck. "You'll need to make a new tattoo to remember this conversation..."

"Fuck you, short-round." Jack rebuked, as John smiled.

"How does all of this make you feel, HK?" I asked, turning to the sinister assassin droid. "I'm guessing all these "pheromone-driven responses" make you want to "stick a gun to your behavior core and pull the trigger?"

There was a short pause as I waited for him to respond.

"Inquiry: Can we PLEASE kill something soon, master?" HK asked with emphasis, looking deadpan at me.

"Heh... very soon, HK." I answered, turning back around with an unseen smile plastered right on my face.

Just as everything calmed down, the decon system finished it's cycle. The doors to the Normandy slid open revealing Shepard, who was waiting to greet us.

"Hello again, Shepard." I greeted formally, shaking her hand. "Ready to take the fight to the Collectors?"

"Absolutely." She agreed, as we walked into the CIC. It was bustling with activity as the crew moved quickly to get ready. "We'll be going through in three minutes."

"Understood." I nodded, turning to face my team. "Alright, you all ready for this?"

I received multiple confirmations from everyone, as Shepard walked over to the cockpit.

"This is it, everyone!" Shepard announced throughout the entire intercom system, as the time ticked down. Shepard looked back to me, as I nodded approvingly.

"Let's make it happen." Shepard ordered, as Joker turned on the IFF.

"Reaper IFF is active." EDI announced, as the ship began to rumble.

"_Commander, the drive core just lit up like a Christmas tree!_" Jacob radioed in, as the ruble intensified.

The Normandy flew into the Omega 4 relay, causing a much more violent lurching sensation in my gut. Five seconds later, the relay dumped us out into a massive graveyard of ships.

"Ah, shit!" Joker exclaimed, quickly banking the ship up to avoid a massive piece of debris. "Whew... too close."

After he had stabilized the Normandy, both me and Shepard looked out the window at the black hole situated at the center of the blood-red nebula.

"Man, isn't that unsettling." I remarked, looking at the countless pieces of debris drifting around.

"These must be all the ships that tried to get through the Omega 4 relay..." Joker added, looking up. "Some of them look ancient..."

"I have detected an energy signature near the edge of the accretion disk." EDI announced, her little avatar popping up on the side.

"It has to be a Collector base." Shepard said, looking between me and Joker. "Take us in for a closer look, nice and easy."

We drifted along silently for a minute before the radar lit up with multiple contacts.

"Careful, Jeff. We have company." EDI warned, as the ship shuttered.

"Taking evasive maneuvers." Joker said quickly, tapping furiously at the controls. "They're just pissing me off!"

The ship shuttered two times as Joker took out two of the oculus things. He continued to evade a while longer before a loud bang resonated from below us.

"Alert, hull breach on engineering deck." EDI said, as Shepard looked to me.

"It's in the cargo hold." Joker announced, looking back at us.

"We'll take care of it, you focus on getting them off our ass." I quickly said, signaling Thomas and Allen to follow me. We didn't even bother using the elevator itself, we yanked off one of the floor panels and floated ourselves down to the bottom deck.

We opened the doors to find the oculus frying Shepard's Kodiak with it's powerful beam. I quickly caught it's attention with a few grenades.

"Hey motherfucker, over here!" Allen shouted, as it shot it's beam at us. We quickly took cover behind the terminals set up here, waiting for it to stop. The moment it did, We all leaped out of cover, running in different directions to throw it off. It decided to follow Thomas, so me and Allen unloaded into it's lightly shielded backside.

"Sean, use that BFG, man!" Allen shouted, as it whipped around to face us again.

"I'm not using that thing inside the Normandy!" I objected, as we took cover behind the AC units. "It'll blow a hole through the deck!"

Suddenly, the entire ship shook, throwing us to the left side of the hanger. The oculus smashed into the side of the hanger, as Allen quickly regained his footing and pulled out his grenade launcher.

"I was going to save these for the base..." He said out loud, grabbing a drum of grenades off his back and slamming them into the underside of the barrel "...but I guess I'll give this thing a taste."

He fired the launcher a couple of times at the oculus, immediately blowing off a chunk of it's side armor. It bled some sort of liquid before bugging off through the hole it made.

The ship began to shake again, as grinding sounds could be heard.

"Grab onto something, Jokers goin' through the debris field!" I shouted, clinging to a few pipes as the rumbling intensified. The lights dimmed slightly as EDI re-routed the non-critical power to the kinetic shielding.

A few terrifying seconds later, the shaking stopped, and we got back up. Not even ten seconds later, as the oculus returned, blowing a hole in the floor before the containment systems erected a field to seal it.

"Aim for that hole!" I shouted, as the three of us unloaded on the weakness Allen had created. After a volley of rounds hit, it shot back with it's beam weapon again, barely missing Allen.

"Allen, hit it with a few more grenades!" Thomas shouted, denting it's backside with a round from his Widow.

Allen quickly leaped from cover after it turned towards Thomas, putting three grenades into it's back. It let out a large growl before it overloaded and exploded.

"I think that did the job." Allen said with a hint of satisfaction in his voice.

"_Sean, get up here._" Shepard radioed in. "_We're about to clear the debris field._"

We quickly ran back into the elevator shaft, propelling ourselves back up to the CIC. After putting the floor panel back, we got to the bridge just in time to see the collector base.

"Any trouble with that thing?" Shepard asked as I walked over.

"A little, but not too much." I answered quickly, taking my helmet off and putting a new filter inside.

"Good." She finished, turning back to Joker. "Joker, see if you can find a place for us to land without drawing attention."

"Uhg... too late." He exclaimed with annoyance in his voice. "Looks like they're sending out an old friend to greet us."

I watched as the collector ship emerged from the station, slowly turning to face us. It charged its beam, firing as Joker evaded it.

"Time to show our new teeth." Shepard said with a smile. "Fire the main gun."

Joker fired the Thanix cannon, sending a blue "beam of energy" into the mouth of the ship. It's bow erupted into flames.

"How do you like THAT, you sons of bitches!" Joker shouted in triumph, as it charged up its gun again.

"Get in close and finish them off." Shepard ordered, as we swooped in closer and blasted directly through the center of the ship with the cannons. The entire collector ship eruped into flames, as a heavy shockwave hit the Normandy. A second hit, as my stomach lurched up and the Normandy dove towards the Collector base.

"Mas effect field generators are offline!" Joker shouted, banking the ship up as much as he could. "EDI, give me something!"

"Generators unresponsive." EDI said, as we got closer to the base. "All hands brace for impact."

I grabbed onto the railing next to Joker's seat as we collided with something outside. The Normandy then handed hard on the side of the base, a loud metallic screech lasting until the ship came to a stop.

"Joker, you alright?" I asked, picking myself off the ground.

"I think I broke a rib... or all of them..." He grunted out, as everyone got back on their feet.

"Multiple core systems overloaded during the crash." EDI explained, as Shepard looked back at me. "Restoring operation will take some time."

"We'll get out of here." I said with confidence, as Joker looked back at me.

"Our primary objective is to destroy this station and stop the collectors... at any costs." Shepard said with confidence.

"Well, I'm glad you two are in charge." Joker sarcastically replied, looking back to his console. "What's next?"


	68. The Collector Base

…

Shortly after the crash, Shepard gathered everyone into the briefing room to go over the game plan. While we were off in the base, the rest of the crew would repair the ship as best they could.

I was nervously pacing back and fourth in the briefing room, hoping to god that nothing was going to change inside that base. Everyone else was either re-checking their weapons, making small-talk, or not doing a single thing as we waited for Shepard to get down here.

I looked back to my own team in order to keep my gaze from drifting over Miranda again. I was honestly surprised Shepard allowed us to be in the same room together. Thomas was busy making chit-chat with Garrus about sniper rifles, Allen was busy making sure that his specially-made hand grenades were attached to his bandolier properly, and John attended himself by balancing a combat knife on his index finger.

Weigman and Sydney were both making casual small-talk between each other, Weig actually succeeding at getting her to laugh a few times. I had to chuckle quietly to myself, thinking about how much we had always joked about them being "close" back home. I'd never imagined they would ever get that close, though.

"What's wrong, Sean?" Tali asked, putting her hand on my shoulder.

"Oh, nothing." I replied quickly, looking at her. "Just... mentally prepping myself for this."

"I know what you mean." She agreed, looking back at everyone. "I hope we're properly equipped to deal with whatever is in that base."

I thought about what she said for a few seconds, before calmly grasping her hand.

"Tali, you have to promise me something." I said with sincerity.

"What's that?" She inquired, sounding confused.

"Promise me, that whatever you do or end up doing... that you don't take any risks." I asked, holding both her shoulders.

"I agree... as long as you agree to not take any yourself." She said with a serious tone, tapping my chin with her helmet.

"Alright." I agreed, nodding slightly as the doors to the room lid open. Shepard walked in, fully geared up.

"This isn't how we planned this mission, but this is where we're at." Shepard started, leaning on the table as she looked at each and every one of us. "We can't worry about whether the Normandy can get us home. We came to stop the Collectors, and that means coming up with a plan to take out this station. EDI, bring up your scans."

A holographic makeup of the Collector's massive base flickered into the middle of the room, turning slowly.

"You should be able to overload their critical systems if you get to the main control center here." EDI announced, highlighting the region.

"That means going through the heart of the station." Jacob added, opening up his omni-tool and waving it at the hologram, highlighting another region. "Right past this massive energy signature."

"That's the main chamber, chances are if any of the colonists are still alive, they're being held there." I identified, pointing at the large empty region inside the station. Shepard nodded in approval.

"Looks like there are two main routes." Jacob continued, highlighting the two paths. "Might be a good idea to split up up keep the Collectors off-balance, then regroup in the main chamber."

"No good, both routes are blocked." Miranda objected, pointing at a cut-off near the regroup point. "The only way past is to get someone to open them from the other side."

"It's not completely secure." I interjected, leaning against the table. "See these ventilation shafts? We could send someone through those to hack the doors."

"Practically a suicide mission. I volunteer." Jacob said with crossed arms, smiling.

"I appreciate the thought, Jacob, but you couldn't shut down the security systems in time." Miranda explained, shooting down his request. "We need to send a tech expert."

"It's your call, Commander." Jacob said, looking over at Shepard. "Who do we send into the shaft?"

At this point, I was biting my lip hoping that Shepard wouldn't choose Tali. It either had to be her or Legion. My hopes were in vain, however, as she was chosen to go into the tube.

"We need someone with tech skills to hack that security system." Shepard said, making my heart drop a little. "Tali, you're up."

"I won't let you down." She agreed, folding her hands behind her back, looking between me and Shepard. I exhaled bitterly before dropping my objections.

"The rest of us will break into two teams and fight down each passage." Shepard said, leaning back against the table. "That should draw the Collectors' attention away from what you're doing."

"I'll lead the second fire team, Shepard." Miranda announced, walking over a bit and standing next to her. "We'll meet up with you on the other side of the doors."

"Hold up, nobody wants to take orders from you, Thunder Thighs." Allen rebuked bitterly, as Jack snorted in approval.

"This isn't a popularity contest! Lives are at stake." Miranda reasoned, waving her hand as she shot a glare at Allen.

"For once, I agree with Miranda." I forced myself to say, leaning against the table. "We need someone who can lead the second team effectively."

Shepard thought about it for a few seconds, before looking back to me.

"_Uh oh..._" I thought to myself, knowing what would be said next.

"Sean, I'll give you command of the second team." Shepard said, causing me to stiffen up. Miranda looked like she was going to say something, but Shepard gave her a look that stopped her in her tracks.

"I'll do what I do best." I reassured, cracking my knuckles.

"Well... at least he knows what he's doing." Miranda said, sounding slightly jealous. I couldn't help but let out a light chuckle.

"I don't know what we're going to find in there, but I won't lie to you. It's not going to be easy." Shepard started, pacing back and fourth before folding her hands behind her back. "We don't know how many the Collectors have stolen... thousands, hundreds of thousands... it's not important."

"What matters is this: Not one more." Shepard said, motioning with her hands. "That's what we can do, here, today. It ends with us. They want to know what we're made of? I say we show'em, on our terms. Let's finish this."

…

We all piled out of the hanger, looking over at Shepard as her half of the team walked out of the bow airlock. We had our job to do, and had to move quickly.

My team consisted of quite a few people. On my team was Grunt, Zaeed, Samara, John, Weigman, Sydney, HK-47, Thane, and finally, Miranda. I found that last one a little funny. Everyone else was with Shepard, and would take the other route.

We proceeded down the twisting hallways in relative silence for a while before encountering the local residents. With our combined might, I almost felt it was a little unfair for the Collectors. I was just hoping Shepard was getting Tali through those vents alright.

"Combat mode: active!" HK proclaimed happily, quickly blasting three Collectors out of the air as they swooped over us.

"Are you ready to give your life for the mission, HK?" I asked casually as we both unloaded on a Collector with a beam rifle.

"Answer: Although I am ready for martyrdom, master, I prefer that it be postponed." HK replied in an overly cheerful way as the fighting died down.

"Heh, we'll be fine." I said with a smile, as Zaeed tossed three incendiary grenades at a group of entrenched Collectors. They all lit up like a bonfire.

"Inquiry: Who said I was worried, master?" HK asked with what I thought to be a small sense of humor.

"_Second team, status!_" Shepard quickly radioed in, as I finished off a pesky Collector with a round from my S&W 500.

"We're moving a a steady pace!" I shouted over the gunfire around me. "We'll meet you at the rendezvous point!"

"Nothing can hurt me!" Grunt shouted, charging head-first into a Collector that had made the unfortunate mistake of being to close to him. He ripped it's arm off, then kicked it into the chasm below.

"Watch the left flank!" Miranda shouted quickly, as several more Collectors tried to circle around us. Weigman and Thane made quick work of them with their respective weapons.

We continued to move further and further into the station before we ran into the door.

"Shepard, we've made it to the door, we'll hold here until Tali gets it open." I announced, as we all took up covering positions around the door. We held off a few waves of Collectors before a large hiss attracted our attention.

We quickly moved inside as a large contingent of seeker swarms began to make a beeline for us. We all piled inside the other side of the doorway.

"_Come in!_" Shepard inquired over the comm as Tali tried to close our doors. "_We're in position! We need this door open now!_"

"Open that door, we'll hold them off!" I shouted to Tali as she quickly rushed to get the doors open on Shepard's end. I quickly hammered in a few commands on this door to seal it shut. Everyone else formed a straight line on Shepard's side, preventing any of the Collectors from getting close to us.

"Suppress that door, don't let any of the bastards through!" I shouted, as we all fired in unison.

We held them off for a few more seconds before the door slammed shut with a loud bang.

"Nice work, Tali. I knew you wouldn't let me down." Shepard thanked, as Miranda called our attention to the massive... valley of Collector pods.

We wandered over to the nearest pods, seeing these actually had people inside.

"These look like the colonists from Horizon..." John said, as I quickly moved past him.

"Get these fucking pods open!" I shouted, rushing past everyone and prying one of the pods open with my prosthetic arm.

Everyone sprung into action as if they had been jolted with electricity, breaking open the pods and freeing the colonists who had been trapped inside. I moved everyone into action just in time, too. Not even after thirty seconds after we had removed the last colonist from their pod, a strange mist began spraying into them. A scent similar to methane filled the air near the pods.

"Oh my god... I thought we were gonna die." One of the remaining twelve colonist stammered out. "You saved us."

"That's what we're here for." I reassured, removing my helmet and nodding my head. "Are you from Horizon?"

"Yeah... we're all that's left though." The woman confirmed, looking at the pods in the distance. "Everyone else was... melted, turned into some sort of liquid, and pumped through those tubes above us."

"What for?" Shepard asked, a quizzical look spreading over her face.

"I-I don't know. We would have ended up the same if you hadn't come." She said again, looking back at the remaining Horizon colonists. "Oh god, I'm so glad you got here before it happened to us."

"So are we. But we still have a job to do." Miranda refocused, looking back to Shepard. "We've done well so far. Let's hope we can finish the job."

"Joker, can you get a fix on our position?" Shepard radioed in, pushing the small device on her ear.

"_Roger that, Commander. All those tubes lead into the main control room right above you._" Joker explained calmly. "_The route is blocked by a security door, but there's another chamber that runs parallel to the one your in._"

"_I cannot recommend that. Thermal emissions suggest that chamber is overrun with seeker swarms._" EDI objected. "_Mordin's countermeasure cannot protect you against so many at once._"

"Maybe we could use biotics to make a protective field around a small team." I suggested, helmet still tucked underneath my arm.

"Yes... I think it may be possible." Samara agreed, looking over at me and Shepard. "I might be able to get a small team through if they stayed close."

"I could do it, too. In theory, any biotic could handle it." Miranda added, looking to Shepard.

"Alright, Sean, you can lead a team through the seeker swarms." Shepard ordered, pointing to me. "Samara can maintain the field for you."

"Sounds good." I agreed, as me and Samara nodded at each other. I looked around at everyone. "Thomas, Tali, you two are with me."

"Got it." They both agreed at the same time, walking over to join me and Samara.

"The rest of us will make up the diversion team and assault the main passage." Shepard planned, pointing at the two different directions. "We'll hold position at the doors until you can get through the swarms."

"What about us, Commander?" The woman leading the Horizon survivors inquired. "We're not fighters, we're farmers."

"_Commander? We have enough systems back online to make a pickup, but we'd need to land back from your position._" Joker explained through the comm.

"We can't afford to go back, Shepard. Not now." Miranda rebuked, as Shepard looked from her, to me.

"You'll never make it without help. I 'll send someone with you." Shepard reassured, looking at Mordin. "Mordin, you can lead the survivors back to the ship."

Mordin nodded, opening up his omni-tool.

"Joker, will need location of landing zone. Will meet you there." Mordin quickly said, as he and the survivors started walking away.

"We've all got our assignments. Let's move out." Shepard finished, as we all broke apart.

…

The four of us reached the main door that led to the second passage. Tali began to work on the door, as I had Samara erect the biotic shield. The door opened with a hiss, as the loud din of seeker swarms filled my ears.

"Darn..." Thomas exclaimed, wincing as the little buggers, with their glowing eyes, poured through the empty space behind us.

"Alright, let's move up." I ordered, as we moved into the passage. Things were relatively calm for a few minutes before the Collectors finally started showing up. As if that wasn't bad enough, one of them turned into Harbinger.

"Damn it!" I exclaimed, taking cover as a ball of energy whizzed over my head.

"I got it." Thomas reassured, looking to Tali. "Tali, send your drone out to distract it."

Tali sent her little drone out, causing Harbinger to re-direct his attention to it. Thomas took the chance to put two rounds into him, first taking down his barrier, then blowing his head off. A few more seconds of shooting, and the coast was clear.

"So Thomas, this certainly isn't what I imagined doing after high school." I jokingly remarked during a quiet moment. "How about you?"

"I don't know." He replied in a deadpan tone, surveying the path ahead with his Widow's scope. "Is this really what any of us expected? Working alongside Commander Shepard, fighting the Reapers, developing an unbelievable hatred for Cerberus?"

"Heh, I guess not." I answered, as I looked over at Tali.

We continued the cycle of shooting Collectors a few more times until we finally saw the end of the passage. By this point, the biotic barrier was putting a considerable amount of strain on Samara.

"Hold on just a little longer, we're almost there." I reassured, vaulting over a metal wall.

"We need to hurry, the Collectors are closing in." Thomas pushed, as we inched closer and closer to the doorway.

"Keep the pressure on, we're almost there!" I encouraged, as Samara forced herself to keep moving. We reached the door, just as several more Collectors swooped in. Samara whipped around, charged up her biotics, and released the protective field in a destructive blast of energy. The collectors were thrown off their feet, giving us just enough time to make it inside and seal the door.

"_Where are you, Sean?!_" Shepard yelled over the comm, as we rushed over to the door.

"We're at the door, It'll be open in a few seconds!" I explained, as Tali quickly got the door unsealed.

The door opened, as a hail of gunfire chased the second team. They layed down a wall of fire as Tali got the door sealed. John got struck by a stray round, clutching his gut. Shepard checked to see if he was still alright, and luckily, he was fine.

"Good job, Sean." Shepard congratulated, just as I was taking off my sweat-soaked helmet.

"Yep, glad to help." I said weakly, giving her a thumbs up.

Everyone took the time to check their weapons as Shepard radioed back to Joker. Luckily, Mordin and the survivors made it to the ship without sustaining a single casualty.

"EDI, what's our next step?" Miranda asked, as we all gathered into a full group.

"_There should be some nearby platforms that will take you to the main control console._" EDI explained, as I looked over at Shepard again. "_From there, you can overload the system and destroy the base._"

"_Commander? You got a problem._" Joker interrupted, concerned. "_Hostiles massing just outside the door. Won't be long until they break through._"

"A rearguard could defend this position and keep the Collectors from overwhelming us." Shepard explained, stepping up onto the platform.

"Pick a team to go with you, Shepard." Miranda suggested, looking up to her. "Everyone else can bunker down here and cover your back."

Shepard didn't debate for long. She actually surprised me a little bit, because she chose both me and Tali to go with her. We stepped up onto the platform with her.

"I'm ready, Commander." Tali reassured, taking out her shotgun.

"Well Shepard... you know I'm always ready." I said with a smile, slipping my helmet back on.

With our confirmations, Shepard looked away from us and back to everyone else to give her speech.

"The Collectors, the Reapers... they aren't a threat to us. They're a threat to everything – everyone. Those are the lives we're fighting for. That's the scale." Shepard started, looking down at them. "It's been a long journey, and no one's coming out without scars. But it all comes down to this moment."

"We win or lose it all in the next few minutes. Make me proud. Make yourselves proud." Shepard finished, as everyone gave small gestures and grunts of approval.

"We'll do our best." Miranda said with a smile. "Good luck, Shepard."

With that, the platform started moving out, as I drew my Pulse Rifle.

"Hey Sean!" I heard Allen shout, as I turned to see the rest of my friends watching us leave. "Don't get yourself killed!"

"I don't plan on it!" I shouted back, as they all shot me and Tali thumbs up. I returned the gesture.

Things moved quickly from that point on. Our platform stopped, as many other platforms carrying Collectors, Husks, and other abominations came to meet us. Harbinger even decided to drop by again on the seconds to last platform.

"This hurts you." It said blankly, as it managed to catch me off-guard with a small fireball, taking down my shields and singeing my coat. That made me angry.

"It may hurt me, but this hurts you more!" I shouted, charging up my biotics and disintegrating the bastard instantly. I quickly refocused my attention as another platform arrived, carrying two Scions. After about a minute of pouring lead into the two, they both hit the floor and melted.

"This it it, all the tubes lead to this spot." Shepard said, as we all began to drift into the central chamber. "EDI, what can you tell us? What are they doing?"

"_The tubes are feeding into some kind of super structure. It is emitting both organic and non-organic signatures._" EDI explained as we closed in. "_Given these readings, it must be massive. Shepard... if my readings are correct, the super structure... is a Reaper._"

"Not just a Reaper... a human Reaper." Shepard said slowly, as the proto-reaper came into view.

"_Precisely._" EDI confirmed, as we docked with the main control station. "_It appears the Collectors have processed tens of thousands of humans. Significantly more will be required to complete the Reaper._"

"This thing is an abomination." Shepard said with disgust in her voice. "EDI, how do we destroy it?"

"The large tubes injecting the fluid are a weak structural link. Destroying them should cause the supports to collapse, and the Reaper to fall." EDI explained, as the three of us looked up at the glowing tubes.

"Give us a minute, EDI." Shepard halted, as the whine of more platforms could be heard approaching.

"Shepard, you and Tali focus on those tubes." I said, handing Tali my Pulse Rifle. "I'll hold off the Collectors until that thing goes down."

They both quickly moved behind cover, as I overclocked the emitter on my right arm and opened up the canister of Minagen X3 hooked to my mask. As soon as the Collectors came into view, I blasted them off of their platform with extreme force so fast that they hit the chamber wall a second later. A new platform descended in response. I quickly fried the platform's stabilizers, causing it to tumble away into the pit below us.

By this point, Shepard and Tali had knocked out two of the tubes leading to the proto-reaper, resulting in loud groans from the support structure. During the lull in combat, I focused as hard as I could on one of the tubes, crushing it as soon as the shield dropped open. The final platform with the control console dropped down, with Harbinger already waiting on it. Still pissed off at the damage he did to my duster, I vaporized him and all the other collectors on the platform.

Shepard nailed the last tube, causing the proto-reaper to lurch forward, letting out a groan as it's supports failed, and it tumbled into the pit below. We all looked over the edge, as Tali and I looked at each other with equal approval.

"Shepard to ground team, report!" Shepard asked quickly, as I stared down at the proto-reaper.

"_Weigman here, we're keeping them held back, but it is heating up over here, Commander!_" He yelled into the comm over the droning gunfire.

"Head to the Normandy." Shepard ordered, as we walked over to the control console. "Joker, prep the engines, I'm about to overload this place and blow it sky high."

Shepard got her confirmation as Shepard pulled up the controls, releasing a small cloud of vapor into the air. Before she could even take out her charge, Joker announced that the one-and-only Illusive Man was calling.

"Oh, this should be good." I remarked with disgust in my voice, as Tali patched a hologram of TIM into view.

"Shepard, you've done the impossible." TIM congratulated, folding his hands behind his back.

"I was part of a team. They all risked their lives for this mission." Shepard corrected without looking back at him, still checking her armor pouches for the charge.

"I know. Their contributions will not be forgotten." TIM buttered up, his hologram barely holding in one piece. "You did what you had to do, and you acquired the Collector base."

"I'm looking at the schematics EDI uploaded. A timed radiation pulse would kill the remaining Collectors, but leave the machinery and technology intact." He continued, making a fist in the air. "This is our chance, Shepard. They were building a Reaper. That knowledge, that framework, could save us."

"They liquefied people, turned them into something horrible." Shepard objected, standing up and facing TIM. "We have to destroy this base."

"Don't be short-sighted. Our best chance against the Reapers is to use their own resources against them." TIM argued, shaking his head. "They were working directly with the Reapers, who knows what information is buried there?"

"You are completely ruthless, and haven't treated my crew members with much respect over the years." Shepard shot back, looking at me for a second. "They next thing I know, you'll be wanting to grow your own Reaper."

"My goal is to save humanity from the Reapers. At any cost. I've never hidden that from you." TIM tried to convince Shepard, his hologram flickering more and more. "Imagine how many lives could be saved if we keep this base intact and use its knowledge to thwart the Reapers. Imagine the lives that will be lost if we don't."

"No matter what kind of technology we find, it's not worth it." Shepard said with finality, waving her arm dismissively.

"Shepard, you died fighting for what you believed. I brought you back so you could keep fighting. Some would say that what we did to you was going too far, but look what you've accomplished." TIM continued, speaking a little faster. "I didn't discard you because I knew your value. Don;t be so quick to discard this facility. Think of the potential."

"We'll fight and win without it. I won;t let fear compromise what I am." Shepard finally decided, turning back to the console and plucking the charge out of her pouch.

"Shepard, think about what's at stake! About everything Cerberus has done for you! You-"

"Hey Jack!" I shouted, causing him to both stop, and to flip around in surprise to face me.

"Our truce is off. Me and my crew will see you very soon." I told him, Tali cutting the transmission before he could respond.

Shepard shot me a smile as she placed the charge inside the console, arming it, and putting it back inside the platform.

"Let's move, we've got ten minutes before the reactor overloads and blows this whole station apart." She announced, as the platform shook violently.

The proto-reaper re-appeared, letting out an electronic roar as Tali and Shepard took cover.

"Oh no, I do not have time for you!" I yelled at the abomination, pulling out my BFG and charging it. "Send my regards to Harbinger!"

My homing systems locked on as I launched the deadly ball of energy at the Reaper's head. It collided with horrific force, blowing off the underside of it's "teeth". It erupted into flames, lurching backwards, then smashing into the platforms. We were all knocked off our feet as the platforms began to lean forward. Tali began to slid down the edge, unable to find a grip. I slid after her.

"Tali!" I shouted, barely catching her before she fell of the edge. I pulled her on as a large explosion went off beneath us, causing the platforms to start breaking apart. Shepard barely held on as we leaned in the other direction, tumbling towards her. Our platform started falling just as another one smashed into us knocking me head-first into the ground.

…

I awoke an unknown amount of time later to Shepard shaking me awake.

"Sean, are you alright?" She asked, helping me up.

"I'm fine." I reassured, looking around frantically. "Where's Tali?"

We found her pinned underneath a metal beam. I quickly pulled it off of her, helping her back to her feet.

"I'm here, Joker." Shepard replied to Joker, which I couldn't hear. My comms must have been damaged. "Did the ground team make it?"

A cloud of seekers began to descend on us, as we began to run alongside Shepard towards the Normandy. We took a few potshots as the swarm as we heard Harbinger's voice.

"_Humans, you've changed nothing._" It said, as we high-tailed it out as quickly as we could. "_Your species has the attention of those infinitely your greater. That which you know as Reapers are your salvation through destruction._"

We continued to run as more and more Collectors made their way out of the woodwork, trying to stop us. The Normandy ascended, as the airlock opened to reveal Joker waiting with a rifle. Me and Tali managed to make it to the ship, as a heavy metal beam smashed part of the ram to pieces. Shepard made one final jump, barley getting a grip as I pulled her up.

"_Detonation in ten, nine,-_" EDI started, as Joker ran to his controls, throwing the rifle aside.

"I get the jist of it, EDI, hang on!" He shouted, as the Normandy accelerated violently out of the base. We could see the ancient debris in the field light up as the base exploded. Joker managed to jump us out of the system before the shockwave could reach us, causing my stomach to jump one last time. I paused for a moment, looking back to Tali as I pulled off my sweat-filled helmet. I grinned.

We did it. We fucking did it.

…

**A/N: Well guys, all we have left in ME2 is Arrival, and things will certainly be interesting with that when it comes to fruition. The Collector base is gone, the Illusive Man is pissed, and everyone made it out in one piece. Soon, we'll be in ME3, unknown territory for our friends in TOOO. Wish them luck.**

**Please remember to fav and review my story, every encouraging review helps push me through this story, and your critiques really do help. This is GIR, signing out.**


	69. Change Of Plans

…

Three Hours Later

The Illusive Man rubbed his temple in frustration once more, closing the final after-action report he would apparently get from Miranda Lawson. First the Collector's base, and now one of his best operatives, succumbing to Shepard's idealism. It was displeasing, to put it mildly. He took one last drag from his cigarette, pushing it into his ash tray as Shepard's hologram flickered into existence.

"Shepard. You're making a habit of costing me more than time and money." He said in a much less smooth tone, staring angrily at the troublesome woman.

"Too many lives were lost at that base. I'm not sorry it's gone." She rejected, pointing at him.

"The first of many lives." He shot back, lighting another cigarette and taking a puff. "The technology in that base could have secured human dominance in the galaxy, against the Reapers and beyond."

"Human dominance, or just Cerberus?" She asked, leaning forward as she stared accusingly into TIM's eyes.

"Strength for Cerberus is strength for every human. Cerberus is humanity." He corrected, standing up and walking towards her. "I should have known you'd choke on the hard decisions. Too idealistic from the start."

"I'm not looking for your approval." She replied, taking a step forward. "Harbinger is coming, and he won't be alone. Humanity needs a leader who's looking out for them. From now on, I'm doing things my way, whether you agree or not."

As Shepard turned to walk away, TIM took several steps forward to stop her.

"Don't turn your back on me, Shepard! I made you, I brought you back from the dead." He ordered, as Shepard closed the channel.

Without any say left, TIM walked back to his chair, closing all the reports and staring into the dying sun. He took another drag from his cigarette, quietly debating what to do with this new threat, and older, returning ones.

…

Sean's POV

"That was good, Shepard." I said with a small smile as she walked out of the QEC. "Just like old times with the Council."

"Not nearly as funny, though." She replied with a small smirk, brushing a hanging wire out of her way. "You know he'll probably be coming after your friends again, right?"

"Yeah, but we've learned a few new tricks while you were gone." I reassured, cracking my knuckles.

"I hope so, for you and for the sake of your friends." She added, as we walked out of the briefing room and stopped in the hallway. "So, we have one more mission to do before you..."

"Yes." I finished, crossing my arms as I leaned against the wall. I knew what she was referring to, and knew we couldn't talk about it with TIM's bugs still all over the ship. "Don't worry, I intend for that to end in a better way."

Shepard just gave me a worried stare, before putting her hand on my shoulder.

"Go check on your team, there's a few things I have to finish checking on." She ordered, as the two of us went our separate ways. After a short elevator ride to the crew deck, I found my friends, including Samara, HK, and Tali, hanging around the starboard lounge.

"Oh, what's up, Sean?" Allen asked, nodding his head up. He had a fair-sized bandage on the left side of his head where a piece of debris had cut him during the mission. "We were just talkin' about that base we blew to smithereens."

"That seems to be a recurring topic of discussion around here." I commented, plopping down next to Tali and setting my helmet on my lap. "Go on."

As they went on about each others kills during the mission, I took out a few calligraphy markers and began to carefully draw an Iron Cross on the right side of the helmet, and a Navy Cross right above it. By the time I was done, I was rather satisfied with my work.

"Nice." Thomas commented, leaning over behind me to take a look. "American and German medals?"

"Yeah, I always did like the Iron Cross and Navy Cross. Thought they were appropriate after the hell we all just went through." I explained, holding it up so the rest of them could see it. "Both are awarded for bravery."

"Why didn't you just throw a Medal of Honor on there in that case?" Allen asked with a smile.

"Because I don't deserve that sore of honor yet." I replied with a smile, putting the pens back in my trench coat pocket. "Besides, most recipients of the Medal of Honor died before earning that place in the history books."

"So you're saying that the five minutes you were clinically dead after fighting Sovereign didn't count?" Tali asked with a little bit of forced humor in her voice.

"Nah... maybe after the Reaper War is over, and Cerberus is destroyed I'll deserve that honor." I said with a smirk, setting the helmet back on the table.

The door to the observation deck opened up, revealing John, who was holding several bags of salt-free chips. He looked surprised, however.

"Hey guys, guess what?" John inquired, standing in the doorway as we all stared at him. "I heard Miranda just quit Cerberus!"

"Wait, what?" I asked, suddenly interested.

"Yeah, I heard some of the crew talking about it." I explained, walking over and dropping the bags on the table. "After Shepard blew up that base, she just quit, apparently. I don't know why, though."

The rest of us looked at each other in minor disbelief, disbelief that the Cerberus bitch that we had dealt with the last few years, was no longer taking orders from her superiors.

"Wow..." I thought to myself, staring out the window before thinking back to something. "Guys... I'll be right back."

"Wait, what are you doing?" Sydney asked, as I got up and walked to the door.

"I... have to make amends for something." I answered with a deliberate cryptic tone. "Stay here, I'll be back."

They shrugged off my sudden departure as I walked out the door and down towards Miranda's office.

"Um... hello?" I asked, tapping the intercom button on the door controls. "Miranda, I wanted to come in and... apologize for a few things..."

There was a quiet pause before the door slid open, revealing Miranda, who was sitting at her computer. She sat perfectly still as she tracked my movements, me walking into the room as the door slid shut.

"So...I heard you resigned from Cerberus?" I asked slowly, causing her to look away for a second. "Or quit, I should say."

"Yes, I told the Illusive Man that I would no longer be working for him." She confirmed slowly, turning towards me and folding her hands on her desk. "He wanted me to remove Shepard from command and return the Normandy to him...but..."

"You liked Shepard's ideals better?" I finished for her, as she tilted her head slightly.

"I suppose you could say that." She agreed, waving her hand to the side. "I agree with Shepard that destroying that base was the right thing to do, and nothing will change that, not even direct orders from the Illusive Man."

"Well, on behalf of my crew, I would like to formally apologize for everything we've done to you in the past." I said with as much respect as I could, bowing. "Don't worry, you don't have to forgive us right away."

"Heh...no, it's only fair..." She agreed, looking down with a small smile, as it turned into a frown. "I have a few things I should apologize for as well..."

"No need to list them." I stopped, holding up my hand. "Let's just give each other an honest opinion of one another and leave it at that."

"Alright then, you first." She said with a small bit of humor in her voice.

"Okay... I think you are an intelligent, powerful woman with a lot of guts." I started, thinking off the top of my head. "You could stand to be a little more social, and a little less bitchy, and... that's about it."

"Fair enough, my turn." She started, as I stood a little straighter. "I think you are headstrong, crude and brash, yet you are a great leader and fighter."

"Well, I've heard worse things." I said, making Miranda laugh as I rubbed the back of my neck. "So, we're on the same page now?"

"It'll take getting used to, but, I suppose we are." Miranda agreed, nodding her head slightly. "I think we might be able to get along."

"That's certainly good news." I agreed, holding out my hand for her to shake. She accepted the gesture. "Maybe we can start off our new, professional relationship by you obtaining a copy of all the data Cerberus collected on us?"

"It sounds fair, given its only a whole organization after six people." She agreed with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Give me a few hours and I'll have the data for you."

"That'll be great." I thanked, nodding. "Anyways, I should get back to my team befo-"

I was interrupted as EDI popped up from the nearby projector, looking at me.

"Yes, what is it, EDI?" Miranda asked, as we both looked to her.

"Shepard would like to see Sean in her quarters, she says it's urgent." EDI announced, as I looked back to Miranda, then to EDI.

"Tell her I'll be right there." I agreed, turning to face Miranda as EDI disappeared. "I supposed I'll see you around, Miranda."

"Of course, Sean." She finished with a friendly tone, as I walked out and headed for the elevator.

…

Thomas's POV

"So, any idea what we should do next?" Allen asked, holding a whiskey glass filled with orange soda and ice. "I mean... should we go back to Alpha Base, or maybe go celebrate our _humble victory_ in Afterlife?"

"Man, I don't even know." John announced through an exasperated sigh, digging his free hand into a bag of chips as he rubbed a bandage on his leg. "Maybe that Hackett dude will have some more assignments for us to do."

"Moron, don't talk about that sort of stuff on this ship." Allen rebuked, smacking John in the back of the head. "Cerberus has more bugs in this ship than a rainforest."

"Well, you were the one that asked, shithead." John shot back, rubbing the spot Allen had hit.

"Knock it off ,you two." Sydney said with some annoyance, walking behind them with crossed arms. "We'll figure it out eventually, you just have to give it some time."

"I hope that whatever it is, it involves killing lots of Cerberus." Weigman quipped, smiling as he threw up his legs on the chair, crossing his hands behind his head. "I sure as fuck hope The Illusive Man hears that one, the bastard."

"You should be careful, Cerberus is still a major threat." Tali warned, looking over at us. "They attacked our fleet not even a year ago."

"I agree, Cerberus has a infamous reputation for getting what it wants." Samara added, looking over at us slightly as she meditated on the floor. "You need to be cautious in this time of transition."

"We're not saying Cerberus isn't a threat, we're just saying we're ready for them whenever they decide to pull something." I explained, setting down my glass of water. "Trust us, we've been prepping for this a long time."

"Almost a whole year of preparation." Allen added, taking another sip from his glass as he looked over at HK. "How about you, HK? All ready for our next go with Cerberus?"

"Opinion: I have upgraded my combat subroutines by 47% since my activation, master." HK answered matter-of-factly, looking over at us. "Fact: Though I excel in stealth operations, I would still pose quite the obstacle in direct combat scenarios."

"Don't worry, the moment we need someone killed quietly, we'll send you in." I reassured, lying down on the couch as I thought of something. "Heh, we could just send HK to put a hole in The Illusive Man's head."

"Nah, we would need more data on Cerberus itself before HK would even get a chance at finding TIM." Sydney dismissed, as HK stared blankly at her for a few seconds.

"What, do you want his home address or somethi-" Allen started to question, as the door to our room slid open.

Sean was here once more, though his expression had changed considerably. He had slightly less enthusiasm to his face, and he didn't smile.

"Um... who died?" Allen asked in a vain attempt to break the mood that had just settled on the rest of us. Even Samara stopped to look at Sean.

"Nobody died." Sean replied in a no-nonsense deadpan. "...Me and Shepard have to go on a mission into batarian space together by order of Admiral Hackett."

"Who's she taking other than you?" Weigman asked, leaning back up from his original position.

"It's just me and Shepard." He answered, looking at each and every one of us. "Hackett wants this to strictly be a stealth operation, so just me and Shepard."

Without another word, he walked over and grabbed his weapons, securing all of them and leaving the room at a brisk pace. We were all still silent a minute later.

"Something has Sean spooked." John pointed out, shattering the deafening silence that had filled the room.

"No shit." Allen remarked, still staring at the door.

"Maybe one of us should go talk to him?"

Before John had even finished voicing his suggestion, Tali ran through the door to try and catch up.

The rest of us just looked at each other in complete bewilderment, and growing fear. Something was wrong... really wrong.

…

Sean's POV

I quickly hit the button for the hanger, mind still racing to figure out how to do this. My thoughts were suddenly shattered as I saw Tali stop the elevator door from closing.

"Keelah, Sean, what happened?" She asked in justifiably annoyed tone.

I stared at her for a bit, looking down before looking back up to her.

"Get in with me." I said, motioning with my hand as I stood to the side. As soon as the doors closed, I opened up my omni-tool, displaying a blank timer.

"What is this all about?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"Well, not only did Hackett learn that Dr. Kenson was arrested, but along with the warning that were was an impending Reaper invasion, she included a faint signal that is originating from that very same system. It's beginning to speed up more and more, very, very slowly." I explained, still holding out the timer. "After Hackett sent me and Shepard this, I asked EDI when this signal would reach full strength, and she gave me this."

I tapped the preset I had on the side, revealing the timer had 17 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds on it, counting down to the impending Reaper Invasion.

"Is this the countdown to Arrival you told me and Shepard about?" She asked, looking between me and timer.

"I'm about 99% sure it is." I remarked, swallowing a know in my throat. "This wasn't supposed to happen, there's supposed to be at least two days on here."

The elevator door slipped open, revealing the hanger.

"What are you going to do?" She asked, as I walked out.

"We're going to stop Arrival no matter what, don't you worry." I reassured, grabbing my S&W and making sure all five chambers were loaded. "I've got an emergency beacon in case anything goes fubar.

"Sean, wait." She stopped me, making me turn around. She placed both of her hands on the sides of my helmet. "Don't you dare do anything stupid out there."

"I promise." I reassured, bumping my helmet gently into her faceplate. "Me and Shepard will be back before you know it."

With that, I joined Shepard in the shuttle. As we left the Normandy, prayed to god that nothing would mess up this plan up I had set up.

…

**A/N: This chapter was a bit short, but that's because I decided to chop off the first half of my Arrival chapter and make it it's own since it would be too long IMO. My brain is currently fried from this massive paper I had to write, so I'm taking a short break from writing until I can look at LibreOffice without sighing in disgust. **

**Also, Chapter 69. Huuuurrrr duuuuurrrr.**


	70. Arrival

...

Many Hours Later

The shuttle touched down on the hard rock with a thump, as the shuttle doors opened to a rain-covered facility. Me and Shepard looked at each other without a sound as we stepped out, drawing our weapons as we moved towards the single doorway. As I cracked the lock with the same program Tali had given me two years ago, Shepard signaled for the shuttle to bug out.

"So no one knows we're here, right?" Shepard asked casually, taking up a position on the other side of the door.

"Hopefully." I replied nonchalantly, as the door slid open, revealing a dilapidated stairwell heading down into the prison. Shepard aimed her gun down the well as I simply stood there with my omni-tool still open.

"Well… let's go." I said quickly, taking out my Plasma Cutter and taking point.

We made our way through the ruined prison before encountering a bridge, one with its controls severed on this end.

"Wait a second." I stopped her, using my biotics to boost myself across the gap. The varren in the pit below me let out a growl as I put three rounds into it.

"The batarians send unwanted prisoners down here to die." I explained, hitting the button on this side to extend the bridge. "Kenson should be somewhere in the interrogation wing."

"I guess we should get moving, in that case." Shepard said, as we continued through the basement of the facility. We killed a few more varren before finally finding a staircase leading upstairs, to a slightly less dilapidated area filled with security lasers. After killing one more varren, we began to hear Dr. Kenson being interrogated by a batarian. It was coming from the other side of a door which lay behind a security field.

"We're taking she short route." I told Shepard, as I atom smashed the emitters on the security field. "She should be around here, but be careful, there are some batarians we have to take care of.

We moved through the doorway, as me and Shepard split up. I was headed for the room adjacent to the interrogation room, while Shepard moved closer to the actual room's entrance. I peeked me head around the corner, seeing two fully-armored guards.

"This one's apparently the mastermind. If she doesn't talk, kill her." One of the batarians ordered, as I quickly charged in, kicking the closest guard in the back of the legs as I extended my arm blade and cleanly sliced the other guard's head off. My arm still in motion, I then guided the blade directly into the other batarian's throat before he could even yell in retaliation to my kick.

Not even five seconds later, Shepard calmly waltzed into the interrogation room, punching the batarian in the side of the head just as he turned around.

"Who are you?" Kenson asked, unable to move her head. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm Commander Shepard, me and a friend of mine are here to get you out."

"Commander Shepard? I heard you were alive." Kenson said with some relief, as Shepard began to work on her restraints. "Admiral Hackett must have received my message."

"We're not safe here. Can you walk?" Shepard asked, as I heard incoming footsteps in the hall behind me.

I ducked behind the door frame with my Pulse Rifle out, as the footsteps got louder. As soon as they were about five meters away, I popped out of cover and began unloading on three batarians. Not prepared for my volley of gunfire, the rounds from my rifle ripped though their armor like tissue paper.

Not even five seconds later, the master alarm for the whole facility went off.

"Shepard ,we gotta go!" I yelled into the mic, as red flashed in my vision. I rushed over to meet up with Shepard and Kenson.

"Who is this?" She asked with some confusion, as we all ran down the hallway together.

"I'm a friend." I replied quickly, as we took cover at the doorway to the next area.

From here, we quickly made our way through the security hub, shutting off all internal and external defenses to reach the unmanned batarian shuttle. We barely managed to make it out before the anti-air guns came back online.

After a few minutes, Kenson activated the autopilot, as she began to explain everything behind what she had been doing. Shepard listened tentatively to her, as I leaned against the wall with my arms crossed. Once she was done explaining everything to Shepard, she got up to call Project Base, facing away from us. Right as she finished her call, I extended the taser built into my arm, giving her a knockout jolt in the neck. She let out a small yelp before slumping over, me catching her before she hit the floor.

"Alright, we've officially broken the order of things now." I told Shepard, as I secured her in one of the restrained seats that the batarians had rigged in this shuttle. "From here on out, we're improvising."

"Right then." Shepard confirmed, as she stood up and removed the rifle from her back. "What's our next move?"

"We'll get as far as we can without drawing suspicion, then we need to get to the main project control room." I planned out loud, as the shuttle drifted into the hanger bay. "We need to stay as far away from Object Rho as we can."

"Understood." Shepard agreed, as we touched down.

I opened the shuttle doors, seeing no one to meet us.

"Alright, let's keep it casual." I said, both of us holstering our weapons as walked through the doors ahead into a longer hallway. At the end of the hallway, there were two guards waiting for us, a man and a woman.

"_What should we do with them?_" I asked while we were still out of their earshot.

"_I thought you were the one with the plan._" Shepard shot back in a slightly annoyed tone.

"_I didn't think of every little detail, Shepard._" I shot back as we got closer.

"_Fine, follow my lead._" Shepard ordered, as we approached the guards.

"Greetings Commander, welcome to Project Base." One of the two guards greeted, saluting. "Where is Dr. Kenson? She said she would be accompanying you."

"Well, that was the original plan, but she was injured during our escape from the batarian prison." Shepard lied, hands folded behind her back. "She told us she would be along in a minute."

"Well, I'm sorry, Commander, but I can't let you into the base without Dr. Kenson's authorization." The other guard halted, holding her hand up.

With access denied, Shepard and I both looked at each other with blank expressions. She winked at me, and smiled.

"What the fuck is that?!" I shouted out loud, pointing up at the top of the doorway. The soldiers, caught completely off-guard, both looked up. Me and Shepard quickly charged forward, taking them down. In less than ten seconds, they were both out cold.

"Alright, give me a second here." I urged, turning one of the soldiers over and yanking out his armor's ID. I took out a small wire, using it to connect the card to the side of my helmet. After five seconds of processing, I saw the faint outlines of several identical armor signatures through the wall.

"Alright, we have about six guys in the room ahead wearing full suits of armor." I informed Shepard, as I squinted ahead. "I think we'll have to go in guns blazing."

"I've got a better idea." Shepard said, as I turned around to see her pick up the female guard's helmet.

"Well... I guess there's a reason why your the one in charge." I said with a smile, yanking the wire out of my helmet.

…

Five Minutes Later

"I don't think this armor is made for someone as big as me." I said in our private comm channel, as I tried to get adjusted to the new suit that I had acquired. "I feel like I'm stuck inside a shrink wrap."

"Well, deal with it, if you draw any suspicion towards us, we're screwed." Shepard replied, as we walked back down the hallway.

"Yeah, don't worry." I reassured, banishing any feelings of discomfort from my mind as we opened the doors to the next room.

Two of the guards turned to face us as the door slid open, one of them, a sergeant, focusing on us.

"Where do you two think you're going?" The sergeant asked, looking down as us as we walked over.

"I'm sorry, sarge, but we really have to go take a piss." I said, my voice automatically scrambled by the helmet I was wearing. "We promise we'll be right back."

"Fine, but you better be quick about it." He grudgingly agreed, as we jogged out of the room towards the restrooms.

"Well... that went better than I thought it would." Shepard said with approval, as we walked down another hallway, with windows revealing the exterior of the base.

"I was thinking the same thing." I agreed, looking out the window as we walked. "Hopefully we're in the clear for a while."

Mostly out of the clear, we slowly made our way through the Project base, planting a few mines in discreet, strategic locations we would pass back through. Getting back to the shuttle would be a bit harder than I would like, but remotely piloting that hunk of batarian junk would be next to impossible.

Our plan from this point was pretty simple. Once the Project is activated, we would make our way back to the shuttle, which was on lock-down so no one could try to retrieve Kenson, or steal it to leave. Once the relay was destroyed, we would hand Kenson over to Hackett so his medical experts back on Arcturus Station could try to help her. She was still a very smart and capable Alliance operative, and if her indoctrination could somehow be broken, she could help in the future.

But, that last part would have to wait until the current Reaper threat was taken care of.

"You do realize that they're not going to just let us turn on the project, right?" I asked Shepard, as we got closer to the control room.

"I thought you were the one who originally wanted to go in guns blazing..." Shepard responded in a slightly mocking tone.

"Well... that is true. Color me a man of simple methods." I reluctantly agreed, as we opened the door. Inside the large room, there were at least eight guards. We were immediately scrutinized.

"What are you doing here, privates?" One of the soldiers, a lieutenant questioned, holding his hand up. "You aren't authorized to be in this area."

"We were sent here by Kenson, she thinks Shepard might try to activate the project, so she wanted another guard detail assigned to the control room." Shepard explained, as two more guards walked over.

"That's strange, no one notified me about this." The lieutenant remarked with a confused look on his face.

Shepard looked slightly back at me, and let out a loud sigh.

I quickly charged my biotics, pushing back the lieutenant and the four other guards behind him. Shepard shot three of the other guards in the room, as I took aim at the five I had just knocked down. Five quick bursts from the rifle, and they were all dead. One short gunfight, and our cover was officially blown.

"Sean, jam the door controls while I start the project." Shepard ordered as she pulled off her helmet. Red lights turned on all around us as the general alarm was sounded all over the base.

I ran over to the door, uploading a little subroutine that Bastila and Tali had worked on together. I did it just in time, though, because I could hear commotion on the other side.

"That should hold them off for a few minutes." I said out loud, as I looked over at the time we have left displayed on the wall. "Shepard, want me to call the Normandy for emergency evac?"

"Go ahead, I'm going to warn the batarians about what's going to happen." She agreed, as violent pulses could be felt in my feet. I looked out the window, seeing the thrusters all over the base firing.

I pulled the beacon off my belt, popping the top off of it and pressing the red button. It let out a small, barely audible whine as it lit up.

"Well, we're well past the point of no return now." I said to myself as Shepard sent out the emergency broadcast. After putting it on a loop and destroying the controls, she walked back over.

"Now it's up to the batarians whether or not they want to take the transmission seriously." Shepard stated in a blank tone, as the project guards began cutting through the door instead of trying to bypass it.

"I don't think those guards on the other side appreciate us trying to stop the Reapers." I remarked bitterly, taking a grenade off of my belt. "According to the countdown, we have two hours before the Reapers arrive and kill us all. Asteroid impacts in forty-five minutes."

"Then let's make it count." Shepard said with a small smile, as the door burst open, and I threw the grenade.

…

Shepard and I took cover behind a few crates as we tried to get through the receiving area. Once we were past this point, it was a straight shot to the hanger, and our ride out of here. We had spent the last thirty minutes working our way past the fanatical guards that Object Rho had indoctrinated.

"Sons of bitches just keep coming!" I shouted with gritted teeth, popping out of cover and firing the weaksauce pistol that came with this armor. A gunshot earlier had grazed my side, causing a lot of pain.

"Keep your cool, Sean, we're almost out of here." Shepard reassured, as she threw a grenade over our cover, right behind the entrenched troops. Small bits of them rained over us as a result.

"Come on, move it!" Shepard shouted, was we ran towards the doorway. We quickly jogged down the long hallway to the hanger, where the shuttle was still sitting, much to my relief.

"Thank god, respite." I announced to myself, releasing the lock on the shuttle with my omni-tool. The door slid open, revealing a glowy-eyed Kenson, who was pointing my Plasma Cutter directly at me.

She fired twice, once at Shepard, then once at me. Shepard managed to get out of the way before the shots were fired, but me, already badly hurt, took the full brunt of the second shot. She hit me square in the chest, knocking me backwards and onto my back.

"Gah, FUCK!" I shouted out loud, as an extreme burning sensation began eating away at my chest. I scrambled to pull off the chestplate, as Shepard fired several shots at Kenson, clipping her in the knees so she wouldn't be killed.

Kenson toppled over, as Shepard quickly policed my weapon. She then ran over to me.

"Sean, are you alright?" Shepard quickly asked, medi-gel on standby.

"I'll live." I said with forced reassurance, looking at the three large welts that were forming. "Might have a few bruises, though."

"You... you two have ruined everything!" Kenson, now with normal eyes, shouted in fury, trying but failing to stand up. "Because of you two, I'll never witness the glory of the Reaper's arrival!"

"Save it for the loony bin, you fucking hag!" I shouted in anger, as I stood up, grabbing her by one of the hands and dragging her into the shuttle. My chest began to burn even harder. "You can preach that bullshit to a few Alliance doctors once you get back to Arcturus."

I secured her in a different seat this time after jolting her once again, and applied medi-gel to her knees so she wouldn't bleed out. Shepard got the shuttle moving with just a few minutes to spare, as the Normandy swooped by and caught us in their hangar bay. Once on board, we ran to the nearest projector to watch the Alpha Relay get obliterated.

The both of us let out deep breaths, as I limped towards the elevator.

...

Several Hours Later

I was sitting on the side of one the beds in the med bay, where Dr. Chakwas was quietly treating the gunshot wound that had grazed my right abdomen.

"You need to hold still, Sean." She reminded, as I flinched in response to her adding another stitch.

"Yeah, I know." I said, trying as hard as I could to keep myself composed. "So that burning sensation should go away soon?"

"I hardly see why it wouldn't." She answered with a small smile, as she wiped away a little blood that had trickled out. "You should worry more about your career choices."

"Hey, you are on the same boat that I am, doctor." I shot back with a small chuckle.

"Well, who else is going to patch you up around here?" She continued with another smile.

"Well... that is a very good point." I finally gave up, as she finished adding the last stitch.

"There you go, good as new." She remarked with satisfaction in her tone. "You'll have to get them removed once the wound is fully healed, but I doubt your friend Sydney will have any trouble doing that."

"Thanks doc." I exclaimed, giving her a firm handshake. Just as I was about to leave, Shepard and Hackett walked in, much to my complete surprise.

"Admiral Hackett, sir!" I quickly said, straightening up and saluting. "Um... If I had known you were coming, I would have gotten a shirt."

"I'm sure we can dispense with the pleasantries for now, son." Hackett said, looking over to Dr. Chakwas. "Can we have a moment?"

Chakwas quietly excused herself, leaving the three of us alone.

"You two went out there as a favor to me... I decided to debrief you both in person." He said, folding his hands behind his back and looking hard at the two of us. "That was before the mass relay exploded and wiped out an entire batarian system. What the hell happened down there?"

"Why haven't you taken him to Kenson down in the cargo bay, Shepard?" I asked, leaning forward in an attempt to relax.

"I did... but she's entered a catatonic state, according to EDI." Shepard said with disappointed in her voice. "We're not getting any responses out of her, not without some treatment."

"Damn it, she's the only other person who could explain this." I exclaimed, rubbing my forehead.

"You and Shepard's reports are the only things we have to go on right now." Hackett explained, looking between us. "I'd love to know you you two made the jump between breaking Dr. Kenson out of prison, to destroying an entire batarian system."

"We arrived with little over two hours before the Reapers would arrive. Destroying that relay was the only way to stop them." Shepard explained, standing next to me. "We managed to subdue Dr. Kenson after we realized she had been indoctrinated, but it doesn't look like it's amounted to much."

"We tried to warn the batarian colonies, but the warning came too late for them." I said, shaking my head in shame. "As far as we know, none of them ever got out of the system."

"The batarians report no survivors from Aratoht. At least you tried." Hackett reassured, nodding his head. "And you two believe that the Reaper invasion was really a threat?"

"No doubt about it, sir." I confirmed, getting off the bed and back on my feet.

"We only had minutes before the Reapers invaded the whole galaxy." Shepard added, standing very straight next to me.

"I'm sure all the details will be in your respective reports." Hackett finished, looking back down at the ground again before looking back up at us. "I won't lie to you, Shepard. The batarians will want blood, and there's just enough evidence for a witch hunt. And we don't want war with the batarians, not with the Reapers at the galaxy's edge."

"Sir, you aren't suggesting that you want Shepard to be put on trial, are you?" I asked, slightly surprised by his reaction.

"Son, there were over 300,000 batarians on that colony, all dead." Hackett shot back, looking between the two of us.

"I did what I had to do, millions would have perished if we hadn't destroyed that relay." Shepard added in to defend herself.

"You're preaching to the choir, commander. If it were up to me, you'd both get a damn medal." He said, taking in a deep breath before continuing. "Unfortunately, not everyone is going to see it that way."

"What are you suggesting?" Shepard asked, shoulders slumping.

"Evidence against you is shoddy at best... but at some point, you'll have to go to Earth and face the music." Hackett explained, focusing hard on Shepard. "I can't stop it, but I can and will make them fight for it."

"Sir, why is Shepard taking all the blame here?" I asked sincerely, honestly confused. "I'm just as responsible for what happened as Shepard is."

"Sean, you are not part of the Alliance, and even if you were, Shepard is your commander officer." Hackett said, looking at me with an understanding expression. "Without the testimony of Dr. Kenson, there's not much else we can go on."

"Sean, it's OK." Shepard reassured, placing her hand on my shoulder before looking back to Hackett. "I'll gladly stand trial once my mission is over."

"I'm happy to see working with Cerberus hasn't stripped away your sense of honor." Hackett approved, nodding respectively at Shepard. "Do whatever you have to out there, but when Earth calls, you'd better be there with your dress blues on, ready to take the hit."

"In the meantime, take this. I don't need you see your report to know you did the right thing." Hackett added, handing Shepard back her report.

"Yes sir." Shepard finished, as she walked out of the med bay.

"Sean, I'll be in contact with your team soon, so keep yourselves in shape." Hackett informed me, looking at the stitches on my side.

"Don't worry, sir. We're always ready to go." I reassured, snapping myself into a salute.

"I mean it, son." Hackett finished, as he turned around. "If Shepard gets convicted, you may be my only other option out there."

Hackett left the med bay, leaving me all by myself.

And from this very point on, we were now in the dark. Mass Effect 3 was coming. We don't know when and where, but it was coming fast.

…

**A/N: Well guys, we've finally reached the end of Mass Effect 2. Two out of three.**

**This has been a massive personal undertaking for me, and I aim for the ME3 arc of the story to be the biggest and best one of them all. I hope you guys are enjoying this story, I really try to put as much quality into it as I can.**

**Please fav and leave a review on my story, they always help! This is GIR, signing off!**


	71. Commander Nomad

…

One Day Later

"Well Shepard, It was a great run, but I'm afraid we need to get back to doing our own thing out there." I said, shaking Shepard's hand firmly. Everyone who had come with us was exhausted, and I was guessing that soon many of them would go their separate ways. The mission they had signed on for was over, after all. "If you ever need our help again, feel free to give us a call."

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll have more pressing matters to attend to soon." She said with another smile. "Keep you and your team safe out there, Sean. We're heading into unknown territory."

"You're telling me this?" I said with some humor, shooting her another smile. "We can handle ourselves out there, Shepard. Worry about yourself for a while."

With that, we walked across the tube connecting the Normandy to the Endar Spire after exchanging our goodbyes. Once on the other end, I saw a familiar hologram.

"Hello, Bastila." I greeted, waving my hand weakly at her holographic projection next to the airlock controls. "No problems while we were gone?"

"Allen left his stereo on, but other than that, not a single discrepancy to report." She said with a small smile, hands folder behind her back. "I trust your mission went well?"

"Missions." Thomas corrected, adding emphasis to the s. "But yeah, for the most part I guess you could say that."

"I see." Bastila replied in a blank tone. "I'll restart the hallway lights for you."

"Thanks." I finished, looking down on one of the personnel profiles Miranda had given me as the airlock cycled. It was a full bio on me, containing every single little detail that the bastards had on me.

**Subject: **Sean *. *******

**Species:** Human

**Sex:** Male

**Ethnicity:** Caucasian

**Height:** 6'3"

**Appearance: **Brown Hair, Green Eyes, Freckles.

**Specific Physical Traits**: Missing right arm, replaced with combat-grade prosthetic. Wears heavily modified Oynx armor, covered by a brown leather duster coat. Wears a custom-made helmet.

**Abilities:** Powerful biotics, tech abilities, advanced firearms.

The bio from that point on was pretty extensive, talking about how there are no physical records on my existence and all that, how I'm the leader of the team, and how I'm constantly "armed and extremely dangerous", which I found really funny. It also noted some interesting things, like how I'm, according to them "very unstable, prone to bouts of extreme violence," and "unpredictable."

"Figures that they would write this kind of shit about me." I said to myself while reading it. I started to focus more when the datapad began listing previous "actions" that they had taken in the past regarding us. In particular, the attack on our ship a year ago, when they had taken me and Sydney.

They frequently made mention of this guy called Kai Leng, who was apparently one of The Illusive Man's most trusted agents from what I could tell. Other than that, no other information about him. Aside from TIM himself, this guy was likely going to be our number one threat.

I needed more dirt on him.

"Hey Bastila, set up an appointment with the Shadow Broker." I said out loud as I walked. "I need to talk to an old friend."

…

Two Days Later

A couple of days had passed since scheduling an appointment with the Shadow Broker. Since then, both Thane and Samara had gone their separate ways, the mission they had signed on for now over. Jack had decided to stay for awhile longer since we were going after Cerberus. She didn't have anywhere else to go for now.

I thought after what happened to Tali, she would be staying with us, but apparently talk of war with the Geth had escalated since her trial. Her father messaged her saying that he was eventually going to step down from the Admiralty Board, and that he wanted her to consider coming back to the fleet. He wanted her help to convince the other admirals not to start another war with the geth.

The message shook her, and understandably. She was still enraged at the man for causing so many senseless deaths aboard that ship, and she admitted that she didn't want to see him anymore. But the thought of possibly swaying the rest of her people away from war did interest her. For now, she would stay and help us against Cerberus, but if things began to escalate between her people and the Geth, she might go home to try and stop them.

I had to clear my head as I stood in the QEC. The Shadow Broker would be on any second.

Eventually, I did finally receive a connection. The always beautiful Liara T'Soni appeared in front of me, wearing her new outfit.

"Well, hello there, Shadow Broker." I said with a large smile, and crossed arms. "I was under the impression you never talked directly to your clients..."

"For you, I've made an exception." Liara replied in an equally large grin. "It's good to see you are no longer unconscious."

"Yeah, I was having some vivid dreams there for awhile." I replied sarcastically, rubbing the back of my neck. "Thanks for helping out Allen."

"It was no problem." She quickly returned, looking to her datapad. "So, you wanted everything I have on Kai Leng, correct?"

"That sounds about right." I confirmed, standing a little straighter.

"It's a fair amount of data, so I'll tell you the short version, and send you the rest." Liara started, as data streamed into my OSD. "Kai Leng used to be a member of the Alliance N7 Special Forces. He carried out several missions for the Alliance before he murdered a krogan on the Citadel while off-duty. He was then broken out of prison, and joined Cerberus to work as a special operative for The Illusive Man.

"...and you are absolutely sure this is everything you have on him?" I insisted, looking up at her as I quickly scrolled through the data she had just sent me.

"I must admit, Cerberus does a good job of covering the tracks of their agents." She said, before a small smile crossed her face. "But I am the best information broker in the entire galaxy."

"That you are." I replied with an equally cocky smirk on my face.

"That's everything I have on Kai Leng, though I do have information on another high-ranking Cerberus operative..." Liara offered, grabbing another datapad from out of view.

"Let's hear it." I urged, crossing my arms as I relaxed slightly.

"Through the information I've been able to obtain, I've learned about a woman who goes by the name of "Rasa". Liara started, a small screen appearing in front of her. "I'm not even sure if that's her real name, and I haven't even been able to find a picture of her yet."

"So, she's basically a nobody." I assumed out loud. "Kinda like us."

"I suppose you could say that." She agreed, scrolling down the information. "From what I've been able to recover, she's worked alongside Kai Leng multiple times in the past, and has over a dozen separate aliases, maybe even more. Other than that, there is not much more I can tell you."

"Well, thanks for trying, anyways." I thanked, as she sent what little info she had over to the ship. "I hope you are doing well in your new position."

"I'm doing my best, but even for an asari this is a lot of data to- " She started to say, before a loud, high-pitched beeping noise filled the communications room.

"I'm sorry, Liara, but I'm getting a call on our priority channel." I quickly apologized. "I'll call you back if I need any more information."

Liara silently nodded in understanding, as I shut down our connection and stepped into the QEC. Admiral Hackett materialized in front of me, arms folded behind his back.

"Nice to see you again, sir." I greeted and saluted at the same time. "Is this the meeting you told me would happen while on the Normandy?"

"Yes, and it's a very important meeting, so I need you to listen closely." He started, projecting a holographic emblem in front of me. It was similar to the Alliance emblem, but had six silver dashes that formed a sharp point instead of an image of Earth. "After talking again with Shepard, I've decided to offer your crew a chance to join the Alliance as a special forces group, working specifically under me."

"Wait... you want us to join the Alliance?" I asked, completely surprised by Hackett's offer.

"It's mostly a formality, to be honest." He said, moving the projection over a bit. "After what happened in that system a few days ago, I realized you truly were on the same par as Shepard. Since I can't provide direct Alliance support to an outside entity without attracting unwanted attention, I figured the easiest loophole would involve internally labeling your team as an secret Alliance special forces group."

"What kinds of rules or regulations would we have to follow if we were to accept this?" I asked, not wanting to have our hands held.

"Virtually none." Hackett answered, folding his hands behind his back again. "After everything you've done for Shepard, Anderson and I, we can trust you to make the right decisions in the field. The only thing we ask of you is to never tell anyone outside of the Alliance that you are part of this "secret special forces group."

"Why would we have to keep it such a large secret from non-Alliance personnel?" I asked, curious to his reasoning behind the decision.

"If word got our that the Alliance was sending unmarked spec-op groups into different parts of the galaxy, it would not only be a massive PR nightmare, but could also result in an unwanted war." Hackett explained, shaking his head as he listed the ramifications. "And with the Reapers on our doorstep, a war with any group out there would be devastating."

"I understand, sir." I agreed, nodding. "I should go over this with my team before making a final decision."

"Remember, you don't have to do this if you don't want to, son." Hackett reminded, holding one of his hands up. "If any members of your team are uncomfortable with this, It's fine. We simply wouldn't be able to provide direct assistance if you needed it."

"Yes sir." I finished, saluting.

"I'll send you the personnel templates that all special forces members fill out. If your team agrees to do this, they can fill out any information on them as they see fit." Hackett added before staring me down again. "After you come to a decision, I'll have another mission for you to do, so report back as soon as you can. Hackett out."

With that, Hackett shimmered away, leaving me bathed in a blue glow from the projectors.

"That's quite the offer." I heard Allen say, causing me to flip around and face him. "Before you say anything else, I'll do it."

"Heh... I thought you'd say that." I retorted, giving him a high five. "Come on, we have some work to do."

…

Even though I knew our group was already big fans of the Alliance, I was still surprised to see everyone unanimously agree to join this little group Hackett was setting up for us. I looked over all the forms that everyone had filled out, still impressed by the level of skill that our team possessed. Once I combined all the forms together, it automatically created a final form.

Task Force ECHELON (Codename: The Odd Ones Out)

Objectives:

-To covertly disrupt threats to Alliance security, investigate leads on future Reaper threat, and assist Commander Shepard whenever needed.

Members:

-Commander Sean Nomad, Task Force Leader

-Corporal Thomas Hamilton, Recon Sharpshooter

-Private Allen Hicks, Demolitions Expert

-Sergeant Daniel Weigman, CQC Specialist

-Private Sydney Moses, Pilot/Combat Medic

-Specialist John Matrix, Combat Engineer

Affiliations:

-Commander Shepard, Alliance N7 and SPECTRE

-Admiral Steven Hackett, Head of Alliance Military

Specialties:

-Search and Destroy

-Assassination

-Espionage

-Sabotage

-Infiltration

Targets of Interests:

-Cerberus (All current and upcoming projects.)

-Reapers (No current targets, will update with new information once available.)

-Hostile Mercenary Groups (Side effect of working in Terminus Systems. Blue Suns, Eclipse, and Blood Pack.)

-Any other known terrorist threats. (Terra Firma Extremists, Batarian Terrorist Groups.)

Previous Operations:

-Assisted Commander Shepard in both stopping rouge Spectre Saren Arterius, and the Collector threat responsible for the abduction of human colonists in the Terminus Systems.

-Performed 84 private operations against pro-human organization Cerberus. All members of ECHELON top Cerberus's public "Kill or Capture" hit list.

-Various operations in Attican Traverse and Terminus Systems against developing terrorist threats. ECHELON currently marked for death by Blue Suns, Eclipse, and Blood Pack mercenary groups.

-Numerous classified operations performed in conjunction with N7 operatives and Corsairs.

After reading over the final document, I decided it was good enough to send to Hackett. I'd have to make fun of John's new "name" in relation to the movie Commando, but that could wait until after we've gotten whatever job done that Hackett had for us.

I walked back to the comm room, quickly opening a priority call with Hackett. After he answered and looked over our forums, he gave out a huff of approval.

"Well son, I'm glad that you've decided to join us." Hackett said with satisfaction in his voice. "Welcome to the Alliance. I'll give you the official handshake next time we meet in person."

"Thank you, sir." I thanked, giving a quick salute. "So... you mentioned earlier that you had a new mission for us?"

"Yes, a mission against your favorite target." Hackett stated bluntly, putting his hands behind his back.

"Cerberus." I guessed, straightening up.

"I knew you'd like the sound of that." He said with a small smile crossing his face. "I'm predicting it'll be a fairly difficult mission, considering what you'll be up against."

"Give me the details, and we'll take care of it." I instantly agreed, as several static images appeared in front of me. They were aerial shots of a fair sized facility situated on a planet's surface.

"These images were taken by one of our deep space surveillance drones last week over Drasta, a hospitable planet a private group of human settlers recently colonized." Hackett started, stepping slightly to the side. "As it turns out, Cerberus already had a fair-sized base located on the other side of the planet, and from what we can deduce from these images, they've been developing experimental fighters, most likely with engine designs they stole from the Alliance a few months ago."

"I can see where this is going..." I said, crossing my arms as I soaked in the information.

"Shortly after the images were taken, we completely lost contact with the probe. We have to assume it was destroyed by Cerberus." Hackett continued, closing the images. "I'm not going to tolerate the theft of classified Alliance technology, so I want you to go there and teach them a lesson."

"How would you like us to go about it, sir?" I asked, hands now folded behind my back.

"I want you to recover the data, any improvements Cerberus may have made to the original designs, and destroy all traces that they ever existed. From there, you have free reign over the fate of the facility and it's occupants." Steven laid out bluntly, closing all the pictures. "Is that understood, Commander?"

"Yes sir." I said with a smile, giving a full salute.

"I know you'll get the job done, son." He finished, cutting off the transmission.

…

Several Hours Later

We felt a familiar lurch as the Endar Spire exited FTL. In front of us was a green/blue planet, covered in small oceans and very large forests. By all means, it was the perfect place for a new colony. It was also a good place to hide a research base.

"Monitor the system for any comm chatter, Bastila." I ordered, as I looked to Sydney. "Take us in slowly, they hopefully won't see us until we're in orbit."

"Knowing Cerberus, they've already seen us." Tali said with some concern in her voice, as she paced back and forth.

"We don't know that for sure, let's just take it slowly." I replied, as the planet got closer to us. "Allen, keep scanning the coordinates Hackett gave us."

"Sure thing." He agreed, moving away from the weapon controls and towards the sensor suite.

"I'm detecting encrypted comm signals coming from the facility." Bastila announced, looking confused on her avatar. "Attempting to decrypt..."

Suddenly, our radar pinged loudly right before a massive jolt to the ship knocked me and Tali off our feet. Alarms around the ship blared as lights around us went red.

"Allen, what the fuck was that?!" I shouted, scrambling back to my feet.

"We've been hit by an anti-ship cannon!" Allen shouted from his console. "Shields are down 24%!

Another round struck the ship, nearly knocking me off my feet again. Sydney fired the emergency thrusters, propelling us to a different trajectory.

"It's coming from the surface of the planet!" Allen added, tracking the shots to their origin.

"Lock onto that thing and destroy it!" I ordered loudly, as Allen quickly entered a few commands. Loud thumps resonated through the ship as every cannon on the ship unloaded on the source of the powerful cannon. After one more hit on our ship, the shots stopped coming from the surface.

"I think I got it, Sean." Allen said with a wide grin in his face.

"Good job." I thanked, giving him a weak high-five. "Bastila, tell everyone who's coming to get suited up. We're gonna kick their asses."

…

We flew through the planet's atmosphere, heading towards the source of the large smoke cloud that Allen had started. Upon seeing the facility from the air, It was barely recognizable. The warehouse that was there now had several craters all over it, and the main building in the middle of the facility had a large, fiery streak going down the side of it. Where the cannon had been, was nothing but twisted metal and fire. Allen let out a low whistle.

"Damn, I did a number on this place." Allen said with a small chuckle, as I glared at him.

"You better pray to god you didn't destroy the data we're here to retrieve." I threatened, as small pings could be heard impacting outside the shuttle. "Get psyched, people. We're going into a heavily defended facility."

"You've told us this already, jackass." Jack said with some annoyance, as she clutched her shotgun.

"Team One, go!" I shouted, ignoring Jack's comment as we hit the ground.

We touched down a ways from the main building, at an empty landing pad. From here, it would be a short walk to the main building that Team One would check. It was made up of John, Allen, Jack, and HK-47.

Once they were out, we lifted off towards the warehouse. We deployed Team Two, made up of Weigman, Thomas, and Tali. I was going to get off with them, but then I got a transmission from Allen.

"_We're under heavy fire down here, Sean!_" I heard Allen shout through the comm. "_We need some air support if we're gonna make it in there!_"

"Affirmative, we'll take care of it." I replied, hopping back into the shuttle. "Sydney, you got that?"

"Yep, we're on our way." She confirmed, as we turned back around. "Heavy or Light?"

"Light, I feel like some psychological warfare today." I chose, opening up the lower compartment of the shuttle, revealing the machine gun mount Allen and John had set up. "Turn on those speakers and make'em loud!"

"Rolling out the red carpet." Sydney confirmed with a small smile on her face, as she flipped a small switch on the dashboard.

Enter this URL on YouTube: /watch?v=_tPfPhs5bU

The hatch opened in unison to Nowhere To Run, revealing the heavily damaged building. I unloaded on the entrenched Cerberus commandos who had taken cover in the ruins. Their cover was shredded like tissue paper as the heavy cannon tore through everything.

"Ahahahahahahahaha!" I laughed manically, as they tried to flee back inside the burning building. "Eat lead, you pieces of shit!"

"_Great job, we're moving up._" Allen thanked, as he and everyone else took the opportunity to storm the Cerberus positions. I continued to soften up the opposition until our team had entered the main building.

The two of us then joined Team Two as they moved across a landing area towards their hangars. Once they were there, we landed and joined them.

"We could hear the music all the way over here." Weigman commented with a smile, as we approached the main hangar.

"I like it loud." I replied with a grin, as we stacked up on the entrance. Tali got to work on the door as we kept our eyes out for any more Cerberus troops in this area.

"What do you think we'll find in here?" Thomas asked, as we waited for the door to open.

"Hopefully we'll find the engine designs that they stole from the Alliance." I answered plainly, looking over at him. "If not, we'll hijack one of their fighters and steal any other data we find."

The door slid open, as we aimed our weapons into the opening. Inside, there were rows of Cerberus-marked fighters, with several set up in the middle, some in one piece, and others in various levels of deconstruction. The entire place looked like it had been abandoned in a hurry, papers strewn about and consoles still on. It looked like we had lucked out on this one.

"Alright, let's see what we can find." I said out loud, opening up my omni-tool and connecting Bastila to the Cerberus network. "Sydney, lay out the welcome mat."

"On it." She replied, taking the explosives Allen had given her off her back. She then began placing them along the main supports and data banks.

About a minute later, Allen called us on the priority channel.

"_Sean, you and the others need to get to the main building now._" He called over through some interference.

"Why, what's wrong?" I asked, as everyone turned attentively towards me. "Cerberus reinforcements?"

"_No, it's... something else._" He answered vaguely, taking a long pause. "_I'll send HK to the entrance to lead you down._"

I stood in place confused for a few seconds before turning around to face Sydney.

"You almost done, Sydney?" I asked, pointing at her.

"This is the last one, don't worry." She said, placing the last demolition charge on a stack of computer servers.

"Bastila, will you be able to beam the data back to the ship and detonate these charges yourself?" I asked, looking at her small holographic projection in the center of the room.

"I can accomplish our objectives." She said with confidence, nodding. "Go on and accompany Allen."

With her reassurance, the four of us piled into the shuttle. Tali gave me a few worried glances before we landed in the main courtyard in front of the smoking building. As expected. HK was waiting for us by the entrance.

We walked inside the ruined building, smoke pouring out of the cracks in the doors and walls, singed paper, flickering lights, and a few bodies, either burnt, in pieces, crushed, or riddled with bullet wounds.

"Wow, this place is even more of a dump than Cartagena Station." Thomas commented in a lighthearted tone, as we descended a staircase that delved into hard stone. The stairs ended as we walked into some sort of dig site that was hidden under the building. We passed by a few generators and workstations before reaching a large blast door. It had a large, singed hole going through the middle of it, which I could only guess was Allen's doing.

"Hey there, Commander." Allen greeted with some sarcasm as we climbed through the hole.

"Good to see you too, Private." I replied in the same manner, as we walked together. "What did you guys find down here."

"See for yourself." He answered bluntly, directing me forward.

At the end of the hallway, there was a large Prothean data cache in an enclosed room. Cerberus had set up a decrypting device on the edge of the cache, along with a shield to protect it.

"Wow... so this is the true purpose of the facility." I said out loud, walking towards the console.

"Yeah, those fuckers fought tooth and nail to keep us out of here, too." Jack replied in an annoyed tone wit crossed arms. "Must be important, whatever it is."

As I walked towards the console, my eyes began to sting. Thinking it was something inside of my helmet, I took it off, only to see the lines of symbols turn to comprehensive lines of text. I read the data for a few minutes before finally realizing what it was.

"This isn't a data cache, it's a storage device for encryption keys!" I explained out loud, smashing the shield open with my mechanical arm. I moved a few of the pieces around, until a loud hiss came from the container. The top of it opened up, revealing three "keys" that could be used to unlock the data held in certain archives in the galaxy.

"Wow, nice one, Sean." Weigman complimented, walking over and taking a look at the three keys I now held.

"_You never cease to amaze me..._" I heard a familiar voice say, as we all turned and pointed our guns at the source. A hologram of TIM was being projected on the catwalk, walking towards us. "_You've done in minutes what my science team has tried to do in months._"

"You sure do love to show up and preach every time we get something done." I replied, walking towards him.

"_I'm not here to talk about Cerberus and it's ideals, I already know that whatever I say, you won't listen._" TIM said with some annoyance in his voice, taking a drag from his cigarette before continuing. "_I'm here to offer you a deal, something that will benefit us both. Whether or not you choose to listen is completely up to you._"

"I'm listening." I said to keep him going, as I crossed my arms. Everyone else stared at him in anger.

"_If you give the encryption keys to us outside of the facility, we will stop pursuing you, and absolve you from all of our records._" He offered bluntly, looking at each and every one of us. "_In exchange, you will cease in the destruction of our facilities and staff_."

"Well then... we must be quite the scratch on your back if you're willing to go to those lengths." I said with some humor, as a few of my friends smiled. I looked at the glowing encrypting keys I now possessed in thought. "Why do you suddenly want these keys so badly? Surely Cerberus, of all organizations, are already sitting on a mountain of Prothean data."

"_Despite what we already know, we're not even close to knowing a quarter of the things the Protheans did._" He answered calmly, making small gestures with his hands. "_Those keys could give humanity a major lead in developing new technology. They could even unlock the key to stopping the Reapers, for all we know._"

"Once again, with leading humanity..." I chastised, walking closer to the hologram. "We already know you don't have humanity's best interests in mind. All you care about is yourself."

"_Don't be so short-sighted. Everything Cerberus does furthers humanity as a whole._" TIM continued to spout, before I got angry.

"Don't give me that bullshit! You've ruined the lives of thousands trying to further your so-called goals!" I yelled in anger, pointing in the hologram's face. "Give me one reason why I should even consider your deal after everything you've done to us and other people in the galaxy!"

"_We alone are the closest to finding a way to stop the Reapers._" TIM said slowly, taking another drag before looking back at us. "_Give us the keys, and we might defeat them._"

I looked at the keys in my palm, before looking back at my team. They all gave me the same look.

"There's no way in hell we're giving you these keys." I defiantly announced, putting them in my coat pocket. "We'll find a way to stop the Reapers without your help."

"_You are going to regret your decision, Sean._" TIM threatened, taking a few steps back as his hologram began to go fuzzy. "_It's your own fault what happens to you and your friends._"

With that, his hologram disappeared, leaving the chamber eerily quiet.

"You enjoy talking shit to the Illusive Man, don't you?" Sydney asked, as we walked out of the chamber.

"It grows on you." I admitted, as a loud vibration could be heard above on the surface.

"It sounds like those explosives just went off." Tali said, as we all picked up the pace. We got to the surface just in time to see a Cerberus shuttle crash into a nearby building.

"What the hell?" John yelled, as small bits of debris rained down around us.

"_I managed to remotely pilot one of their new fighters with the data I found._" Bastila announced, as said fighter hovered above our position. "_Several combat shuttles attempted to land at the building, but I destroyed them._"

"Fantastic job, Bastila." I congratulated, giving the fighter a thumbs up. "We're done here, meet us back at the ship."

"_Affirmative._" She confirmed, as the rest of us piled into the shuttle.

I took one last look at the burning facility as we flew away, debating silently what to do with the keys I now had. Who knows, maybe the Illusive Man was right. For all I knew, these could hold the key to stopping the Reapers.

…

**A/N: Well, from this point on, we have a six-month gap between ME2 and ME3. There's likely going to be a lot more fights with Cerberus in the future, but they'll need to balance it out with a lot of special missions and diplomatic crap. Exciting.**

**Please remember to fav and leave a review on my story, this is GIR, signing off!**


	72. Running Out Of Time

…

Five and 1/2 Months Later

In Vancouver

Me and Weigman followed a guide through the crowded Alliance administration building. Everyone was moving quickly in comparison to our slow, long strides. We were both dressed in Alliance formals that Hackett had provided a while ago, and I just had to voice my discomfort to Weigman.

"I hate not having my helmet on." I said just loud enough for him to hear as we walked past a long row of windows. "I feel like someone could take my head off at any second."

"I know how you feel, I wish I had my hood on right now." He admitted in a similar tone, as someone brushed past him by accident. "And all this light really bothers my eyes."

I nodded in agreement, as we took another turn up a flight of stair.

After we joined the Alliance under Hackett's cover, he took the liberty of filling in the gaps of our past. All of us were now trained N5 agents according to what Hackett's new files indicated, which could give us significant leverage in the future if push came to shove. Most of what we filled out on our forms was still classified information due to Hackett's orders, though he did let a few stories of our exploits in deep space slip through the cracks to higher-ups in the Alliance.

The last five months we've done two things, and two things only. Raid Cerberus facilities, and follow up on anything that could lead to finding a key to stopping the Reapers. The former becoming a normal source for stress release, and the latter usually turning into disappointing romps through rocky caves and muddy swamps. We hadn't been contacted by Cerberus ever since TIM offered us his "deal", though we weren't exactly complaining about it all the same.

After our ex-filtration, I gave the three keys I recovered to Liara. Her better understanding of the Protheans, combined with her spy network, gave her a much better chance of finding a way to use them. Last time we talked, she was getting close to discovering the location of one of the caches the keys connected to, but whether or not that yielded any fruit was beyond me at the current moment.

"Sorry Commander, but you'll need to submit to a security scan before proceeding any farther into the building." A marine stopped, holding his hand out.

"That's fine." I agreed, as me and Weigman stepped into the checkpoint's scanners. It beamed several different fields over me before one of the scans set off a small alarm.

"Sir, you can't see the defense committee with... that arm, the scanners say it has a weapon inside of it." The marine explained, sounding slightly confused.

"I knew I forgot something, hold on." I said with a frown, pulling up my sleeve to reveal my full arm. I reached around it, removing the taser, blade, and a small holdout pistol I had recently added. "Here you go, Private."

"Um, yes sir." He said in a slightly flustered tone, placing the attachments in a bin and starting the test again. This time, there were no alarms.

"You can go now, sir." The private said, saluting.

We went even deeper into the building, eventually reaching an elevator that went up a ways. A long, long, elevator. The irony was short-lived.

About four months into our new crusade against Cerberus, we let our morals cave in enough to send HK-47 out on what he's always "dreamed" of doing. A full-fledged assassination mission, aimed at blowing The Illusive Man's head clean off his shoulders. We scrounged up as much information as we could to give HK a decent starting point, and sent him on his way. He sends reports back to us detailing his progress whenever he's not in danger of being compromised. He's made little progress.

I'm not really sure where Jack went off to a few months ago. She told us that she had gotten some sort of "job offer", and left the next time we docked at Omega. She made us all swear that we would do "as much fucking damage to Cerberus as possible" while she was gone and we, of course, agreed. I had to admit, I hope she was doing alright out there. Last thing I waned to hear about on the news was that she was arrested for crashing another space station into someone's moon.

Now Tali... Tali left about a month ago. Like she had predicted, her people couldn't keep their feelings in check, and finally declared full-on war with the Geth shortly after Tali lost contact with Legion. After the war started, her father stepped down as one of the members of the Admiralty, unwilling to have any more of his people die under his leadership. I dropped Tali off at the Rayya, before she suddenly stopped communicating with me. I hoped that she was OK out there.

"Commander, you and the sergeant can have a seat here." The guide directed, as we entered a room next to the main committee chamber. "The committee will speak with you in a moment."

"Thanks." I said, as she quickly walked off. The room was bustling with even more activity than the lower floors, people rushing reports to one another. Weigman and I looked lazy compared to these people.

The doors on the opposite end of room opened up, revealing a face that I hadn't seen in a long time.

"Private Emily Shaw?" Weigman said in surprise, standing up and shaking her hand.

"It's... Specialist Shaw, now." She corrected, looking at my stripes, then giving a quick salute. "Wow, I didn't know you were a Commander, sir."

"I've always been a Commander, but it's best not to let Cerberus know that too quickly." I replied with a small smile. "You seem to be walking much better after what happened to you in that base."

"Whatever Cerberus was doing ended up killing the nerves in my legs." She said, pulling up both of her pant legs slightly to reveal matching robotic replacements. "Hackett himself bought me a new pair."

"I have to admit, I like the extra strength I get out of this replacement." I casually commented, pulling my sleeve up. "I can hide so many things inside of them."

"Yeah, that is true, isn't it?" She agreed with a smile, looking at the both of us. "So... you both hear to talk to the committee too?"

"Yeah... we're still not exactly sure what they want to ask us about, though." I confirmed, crossing my arms and leaning back slightly as I looked at the set of double doors at the end of the hallway. "What did they want to see you about?"

"They asked me about Cerberus, mostly." She said, shrugging her shoulders. "They also asked me about your team."

"Oh really?" I said with a small bit of humor. "What did they want to know about our band of misfits?"

"They were just curious as to what I thought about you guys." She admitted, looking between us. "Nothing else."

"If you say so." I agreed casually, as a woman approached us. "We'll see you later, Emily. We have business to attend to."

We waved goodbye as the two of us walked through the double doors. The room inside had a raised podium in front of a very tall window. The three members of the defense committee were sitting there, waiting for us. The left and right sides of the room were lined with occupied work stations and dozens of screens.

"Commander Nomad, Sergeant Weigman, welcome." The man in the middle greeted, as we both saluted. "We've been trying to get a meeting with your team for a while now."

"What did you want to ask us about, sirs?" I asked, straightening up.

"We wanted to ask you a few questions regarding your encounters with Cerberus in the past." A woman on the left began to explain, as another man from one of the stations handed her a datapad. "Frankly, we've heard conflicting stories about your team, ECHELON, and we wanted to set a few things straight."

"Me and my subordinate will answer to the best of our abilities." I agreed, folding my hands behind my back as I looked at Weigman, who nodded lightly. "Some of our ops are still classified by order of Admiral Steven Hackett."

"We've been told that your team has talked to The Illusive Man several times over the past four years." The man on the right said with his hands folded on the podium. "What can you tell us about him? Have his motives changed at all since he created Cerberus?"

"Well... he is still very dedicated to his ideals." I started off, talking a step forward. "He's persuasive, charismatic, smart... though he is completely ruthless and has extreme contempt for all life, whether it be human or alien."

"As far as we can tell, he's become obsessed with trying to find a way to stop the Reapers in recent months." Weigman added, taking a step forward as well.

Things suddenly got much quieter in the room, as a few of the Alliance personnel stopped and looked at us in full attention. The board members now focused harder on us.

"I'm guessing you've heard about the Reapers before?" I asked, looking at the faces on both sides of the room before focusing back on the committee.

"We've heard... rumors about the Reapers." The woman the the right admitted, looking hard at me. "When did you learn about them?"

"Me?" I said in some disbelief, letting a small bit of anger seep through my persona. "I've known the Reapers existed ever since me and my team helped Shepard kill Sovereign three years ago!"

Another pause filled the room, as the man in the middle sat forward.

"The Council has completely denied the existence of these so-called Reapers ever since The Battle of the Citadel took place." The man said with some annoyance in his voice. "How can you be sure that they actually exist?"

"How can you still ask that question after everything that's happened? I've fought them in one form or another for the last three years." I answered with some aggression in my voice. "First when they indoctrinated Saren, and second when they stole whole human colonies in the Terminus Systems."

"The Collectors were the ones behind the abducted colonies." The man in the middle corrected, making me angry.

"The Collectors used to be Protheans, who were indoctrinated then turned into mere thralls to serve the Reapers." I corrected back, pointing at the man with barely contained anger in my eyes. "Don't insult my intelligence, sir. While you've sat here and done paperwork, my team has been out there fighting and bleeding to keep Earth and her colonies safe."

They looked at one another with varied expressions, before the woman spoke up.

"Do you know if there are any connections between Cerberus and the Reapers?" The woman asked, as I took a step back.

The question caught me off-guard. I actually had no idea how they were making these kinds of connections.

"Why? Has there been some sort of development that I'm not aware of?" I asked, still trying to find a connection in my head with the things I already knew.

"Yes. Cerberus attacked one of our patrol vessels near Terra Nova yesterday, attempting to steal navigational information from their computer systems." She began to explain, looking harder at me. "Their commandos attacked with new armor and weapons, and they were much faster and stronger than an average human. Our one surviving marine took this image of one of the commandos without their helmet."

An image of what appeared to be a husk's hollowed-out face appeared on a screen above her. It still retained some human qualities, though was still distinctively husk-like in nature.

"Oh no..." Weigman said as a sinking feeling took place in my stomach, causing me to take another step back.

"The cybernetics on this commando's face match the profile of the husks we recovered after the attack on Eden Prime." She added, as I looked back at an equally worried Weigman.

"It looks like The Illusive Man has found a way to give his troops Reaper implants." I said, trying to hide my worried expression. "This is really bad news... that either means he's found a way to block out the indoctrination, or that means they've all been indoctrinated."

The committee members looked at each other again with more worry on their faces.

"What do you suggest we do?" The man in the middle asked, looking the most worried.

"I don't know... this is bad, real bad." I said, trying to put something together quickly. "I would suggest sending more troops to your frontier outposts, and arming them with more effective firepower."

"That's it? That's all you can suggest?" The man on the left exclaimed with some anger.

"I have neither seen or fought these new Cerberus troops, sir, so I can hardly make an appropriate judgment on how to handle them at this time." I defended, folding my hands back behind my back. "I'll be happy to add to my suggestion the moment I have the chance to fight them myself."

With my final statement, they looked at each other one more time before the woman turned back to me.

"Thank you for your suggestions, Commander." The woman thanked, as they all stood up. "You and the sergeant are dismissed."

With that, we saluted and left the room, minds racing at the speed of light. Cerberus was getting ready to make a big move if they were implanting their commandos with Reaper tech. That alone scared the hell out of me. Weigman and I didn't even look at each other as we made our way back out of the building. Things were about to get a lot more difficult.

We met up with everyone else, who were waiting to hear what was going down.

"What happened in there, guys?" Allen asked, catching the worried looks thickly plastered on our faces.

"We'll tell you back on the ship." Weigman replied in a blank tone, as we walked off.

…

An Hour Later

After thoroughly explaining to the others what had transpired during the committee meeting, they were now just as worried as me and Weigman. The idea of Cerberus being under the control of the Reapers was almost unfathomable, considering the danger they individually held in their own regards. Bastila was even worried, something that didn't help our tensions.

My feelings would had to wait, however, as I got another priority call from Hackett. With Thomas watching the connection on our end, I stepped into the QEC.

"Nice to see you again, sir." I greeted with a shaky salute.

"How did the meeting go with the committee?" He asked with crossed arms, looking slightly worried.

"About as well as you would suspect." I answered, looking hard at him. "When were you planning to tell us about Cerberus augmenting their members with Reaper implants?"

"The committee was skeptical about ECHELON's prior missions against Cerberus." He admitted, letting his arms hang down. "They needed you see how you would react to a new development like this."

"Gee, thanks." I said with obvious sarcasm dripping from my voice, as I nervously pulled at my sleeves. "I'll go ahead and assume you didn't call me on the priority channel just to chat."

"You would assume correctly." He agreed, straightening up. "I want your team to go to the Prothean archives on Mars, and meet up with Dr. T'Soni. She's told me that she may be onto something regarding a weapon to stop the Reapers, and I want you to assist her if you can."

"Liara, huh? I guess she found out where the last key went after all." I said out loud to myself, rubbing my chin before looking back at Hackett. "Alright, we'll head there as soon as we're squared away here."

"Good, the sooner the better. I don't think we have much time left." He urged, actually letting a sense of worry leak through his chiseled face.

"For the Reapers, sir?" I asked, not entirely sure what he was talking about. "How close do you think they are?"

"Based on the communication losses with several of our frontier colonies, I'd say we have between four to three days left before they arrive on our doorstep." Hackett admitted, before focusing back on me. "That information stays between your crew and us, son."

"I understand, sir." I agreed, nodding slightly. "What are you going to do about Shepard? She's the most qualified person to advise the Alliance on some sort of defense strategy."

"I agree, though some in the Alliance are still reluctant to get advice from her after what happened in batarian space. She's scheduled to appear before the committee tomorrow at 3:00." He said, crossing his hands behind his back again. "Hopefully she'll be able to talk some sense into them, but I'm not holding my breath."

"After what me and Weigman just went through, I can't say I blame you." I finished, saluting one more time. "Good luck, sir."

"Same to you, son." Hackett returned, nodding. "Hackett out."

The warm glow around me died down as the overhead lights went back on. Thomas looked at me with his usual blank expression, as we both quietly left the comm room.

"Well... we finally get to visit Mars." Thomas said, trying to inject some cheer into the atmosphere as the elevator doors closed behind us. "Hopefully we won't find any portals to hell or hammer-wielding guerrilla fighters while we're there."

"Trust me, after what's happened today, I'd much rather deal with those two than Cerberus or the Reapers." I replied, slumping against the side of the elevator.

"In theory, we are equipped to deal with both right now." Thomas pointed out, causing a small smile to pierce my persona.

"Yeah... that we are." I agreed, as the doors opened to the main deck. "The only thing we aren't equipped for is the USS Event Horizon."

"That's floating in orbit around Neptune, so I don't think we have to worry about that right now." Thomas agreed, as I gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder.

We walked down to the bridge, where Sydney was camped out in her "corner" and reading some more manga she had recently picked up. Allen was busy trying to sync up our two new Thanix cannons to the rest of the ship's arsenal. They had replaced the two MAC cannons on the top and bottom of the ship's "head".

I was planning to have some fun with those the next time we had a chance.

"Hey bumblebees, what's going on?" Sydney asked casually, glancing at us before looking back to her 12th issue of Fullmetal Alchemist. Allen simply looked over his shoulder for a split second before looking back.

"We've got an objective." I announced, causing both of them to turn around and face me. An interested Bastila even manifested herself in the bridge's holotank. "We're going to the Protheans archives on Mars."

"Really? Why?" Sydney asked, curious as to the cause of this sudden development.

"Apparently our old friend Liara is close to some sort of solution for fighting the Reapers." Thomas answered, flicking an OSD containing the coordinates to her. "We're going there to see if we can't help her retrieve it before the Reapers arrive."

"Well, how much time do we have left then?" Allen asked, flipping up his assistance visor.

Me and Thomas looked at each other with the same exact look on our faces.

"Three to four days, at max." I answered, causing Sydney to let her manga go, Allen to stare at me with his mouth hanging wide open, and Bastila's hologram to glow brighter and buzz around the edges for a few seconds.

"Are you fucking serious?" Allen inquired, getting out of his seat.

"I am." I replied in a no-nonsense tone, looking to the three of them. "Listen, we need to hustle. If there's something that can stop the Reapers hidden on that archive, we are going to find it, and find it quickly."

"Alright, let's do it." Sydney agreed with some renewed determination, grabbing her helmet and walking back over to the cockpit. Allen sat back down and worked even harder on the calibrations for the new guns. Bastila nodded in agreement as her hologram faded away.

"Bastila, please hook me into the intercom system." I asked, as I approached the nearest comm panel. "John, Weigman, get prepped, we're heading to Mars to help out Liara T'Soni. Hackett thinks the Reapers will arrive in Sol three or four days from now."

"We'll be at Mars in about half an hour." Sydney announced, as the ship rumbled to life once more. The city of Vancouver peeled away from our vision, giving way to clouds and stars.

We knew when the Reapers would rear their ugly squid "faces" now... but I was still worried about whatever Cerberus was up to...

…

Half An Hour Later

We made our way towards the southern hemisphere of Mars, seeing a few scattered lights on the surface as we soared past. We finally saw our destination, the Deseado Crater where the Prothean ruins were located. I had to admit, on a map the crater didn't look all that imposing, but now that we were getting closer and closer, It was easy to see the sheer size of it. It was easily a few miles long, and it was one of the smaller craters on Mars.

The facility itself was built around a small sinkhole directly in the center of the crater. It was microscopic compared to the crater itself. After identifying ourselves to the traffic controllers, we docked our ship in the largest port available in the facility. It hung slightly over the sinkhole to give us more room to breath, and removed the need for an excursion through the harsh atmosphere to reach the inside of the facility.

Thomas, John, Sydney and I walked through the tube at a brisk pace, looking through the windows to see the calm landscape of Mars. Even with everything that was happening, I couldn't suppress the small bit of joy rising from my heart. I was finally on Mars. One of my bigger childhood dreams had been fulfilled.

The airlock door on the other side opened, revealing two armed guards waiting for us. They led us through to a security station before hailing a tram to take us to the actual archives. I looked around, seeing people were in even more of a rush here than they were at the Alliance headquarters. They all must have known something was coming.

It was a little weird though, seeing how much security they put into this place. In my opinion, they had more than enough guards, but things like the double heavy repeating cannons mounted on the ceiling seemed a bit excessive. But, these were the same Prothean ruins that propelled humanity into the future, so I guess I couldn't really blame them.

"Man this is boring..." John commented, as we all sat down on one side of the tram. We weren't the only ones going over, some Alliance-scientist types were boarding as well.

"Knock it off, we're here to help Liara, not to entertain you." Sydney chastised, crossing her arms.

"I don't need you to entertain me." He replied casually, placing two wireless ear-buds in his ears and opening up his omni-tool to view his music playlist.

Sydney simply rolled her eyes as the last few scientists boarded the tram. From there, we slowly made our way to the other sector where the actual physical archives were. Other than some weird woman staring at me during the short trip, it was pretty uneventful.

We finally made it to the archives, finding Liara working intensely on the main console. She was surprised to see us. We helped her on the archives for many hours before night had fallen over the facility. We all retired for the night while Liara elected to stay back and keep working.

I didn't find anything that would suggest weapon designs being stored here, but then again, Liara has been studying the Protheans all her life.

I did see the weird woman from the tram car again while we walked back to our ship. Once again, all she did was stare at me before we got too far apart. I was wondering what her problem was. Bastila managed to covertly bypass a few layers of the security network here, allowing her to better monitor the area.

After peeling off my clothes and taking a quick shower, I slipped under my covers and quickly fell asleep. Hopefully, tomorrow would be a better day.

…

**A/N: Well, The Odd Ones Out are now firmly planted in the beginnings of Mass Effect 3. I had some fun writing this chapter, though I did kinda rush the last part with Liara after I lost a whole page and a half of dialogue to a computer crash. It wasn't anything to important, so I tossed it.**

**I'm actually really curious as to what you guys want out of my ending when the final arc of the story concludes. I have a few big ideas in mind, but I'm having trouble narrowing them down. If anyone is interested, feel free to message me with your suggestions. (BTW, If your suggestions involve you or someone else's OC's, I'm instantly blocking you. I'm sick of getting requests to feature other people's OC's in my story.)**

**Please remember to leave a review and fav my story! This is GIR, signing off!**


	73. Infiltration

...

A Few Hours Later

I was suddenly jolted awake by a dropping sensation in my stomach, as I quickly opened my eyes. Through the blur that still occupied my vision, I could see loose items in my room begin to move towards the port side of the ship. Then I began to slide off my bed.

"Ah, FUCK!" I shouted in a sudden panic, grabbing hold of my bolted-down bed frame as the entire ship began to roll towards port. Small gun parts, books, and other debris began to fly towards me, before a violent bang vibrated through the ship, sending it rolling in the opposite direction.

After a few more seconds of the emergency thrusters firing, the ship's engines were finally hot enough to stop our descent. We had drifted so far into the sinkhole that the sun was completely out of sight.

"Is everyone alright?" I asked in my comm panel, rubbing my head where a copy of Halo: The Fall Of Reach had squarely smacked me. I received several replies from my shaky friends.

"I think my arm is broken." Thomas answered through gritted teeth, leaning on the wall as he looked at the comm panel.

"Go to the med bay, Thomas, I'll see what I can do about it." Sydney ordered, her voice still understandably shaken after what had just happened.

"I just wanna know what the fuck happened!" Allen shouted loudly in the comm, causing me to lean back. "Bastila, can you please enlighten us?"

"Someone disabled the gravity clamps keeping us docked to the facility." Bastila explained, appearing on the screen and looking very confused. "Whoever did it was somehow able to numb the connections I had to the base, effectively making me blind until it was too late."

"Is there any way you can get those clamps working again?" I asked, looking over my room for my helmet.

"Whoever disabled them also appears to have initiated a complete security lockdown inside of the facility." Bastila said, looking harder at me. "Even if I did have access, the docking tube was destroyed upon our loss of control."

"Yeah, I can see that." I said in a deadpan, looking out my window to see the remnants of the tube still firmly attached to our port airlock. "Weigman, John, get suited up. We're going to find whoever turned off our clamps and kill them."

"Sound good to me." Weigman agreed immediately, as the line went dead.

"What about me?" Allen asked, outraged at being left out after what had happened. "I don't get a little payback?"

"I need you out here as fire support in case something else happens." I told him to calm him down. "I'm sorry, but someone has to do it."

"Alright, fine." Allen gruffly agreed, cutting me off as the whole panel went dark. I leaned against the wall, letting the adrenaline still in my system cool off.

I didn't know what was going on, but there was one thing I did know.

Whoever had just tried to kill us was dead meat.

…

Weigman's POV

After the ship had finally gotten back to the same height as the facility's docks, we depressurized the starboard airlock and went outside. Due to the weaker gravity outside and lack of docking access, we would be using our thruster suits again. The portside airlock had been badly damaged, but we could easily repair it at a later time.

"Alright, we'll head for that airlock over there." Sean said, pointing out an airlock near the edge of the sinkhole that led to the nearest security station. "Keep a tight formation, we don't need any more surprises."

We landed on solid ground, hacking open the door and heading inside. As soon as the doors closed, our communications with the Endar Spire went completely dead. The room filled with mist as decontamination went full swing.

"Shit, I guess we're on our own." John exclaimed, as the airlock door magnetically sealed.

"We'll be fine, don't worry." I reassured, as the mist began to clear. "Sean, did Bastila catch anything else about those clamps before we left?"

"Nope, whoever did it knew what they were doing." He answered bluntly, checking his plasma cutter's 90 degree rotation.

"In that case, we should be extra careful." I said, taking the two plasma cutters off of my belt as the decon sequence ended.

We all pointed our guns at the door as it slid open, revealing several dead Alliance marines. That was already a bad sign in of itself.

"Jesus, what happened to them?" John asked out loud, turning one of the dead soldiers over revealing his heavily scorched armor, which had been completely melted. His skin was burned beyond all recognition, leaving nothing but burnt flesh and carbonized bone.

"I haven't seen anything like this before." I commented, looking at the singe marks all over the walls. Those impacts were melted down as well.

"I have." Sean said, causing both of us to flip around and face him.

"From where?" I asked, wanting to know what this was.

"No... no, I'm just imagining things." Sean quickly corrected, shaking his head. "Come on, let's keep moving. We need to find Liara and secure the archives."

Enter on YouTube:

/watch?v=YVbSWGp3NNI

Down the entry hallway, the door had been forcibly melted shut. We managed to bypass it by going through a small maintenance passage.

"Check your targets, this place was brimming with civilians just a few hours ago." Sean ordered, as we opened the other end of the passage. It revealed the entry area, giving us a straight towards the security office there. We checked the security logs and footage, but everything up to an hour ago had been completely erased.

We followed the same path we had taken to the trams yesterday, going past a small lab that had been completely vented into space. The people that had been inside were all dead, bodies twisted and contorted on the floors.

"Whoever did all of this will die painfully." John stated, as we glanced into the room.

"This is beginning to look less and less like a one man operation here." Sean observed, as we left the area and entered a hallway.

All three of us took cover on opposite sides of the hallway behind supports as gunfire could be heard farther up ahead. We peeked our heads around the pillars to see a few Alliance soldiers fleeing down the hallway from several heavily armored figures.

They were Cerberus commandos. The same kind of commandos the committee had shown me and Sean back on Earth.

Before we could move another muscle, all three of the Alliance troops were cut down by a strange weapon I had never seen before. It fired what looked like orbs of blue energy in a direct path, impacting in a bright, blue burst of intense heat. Three shots to each trooper, and they were all dead before hitting the ground.

"Heh, nice shots." One of the commandos congratulated to a more heavily armored commando as they made their way down the hallway.

"Oh fuck... that can't be right..." Sean started to say quietly, taking another peak at the commandos. "They shouldn't have that..."

"What are they using?" I asked under my breath, getting worried about whatever Sean was upset about. I knew it had to be the weapons, considering the fact that we knew about everything else already.

"They're using the Series 3 Plasma Rifle from Doom 3." He said, putting his plasma cutter back in his coat and instead taking out his pulse rifle. "Switch to armor piercing, take the smaller ones down before they can even fire."

John and I nodded, as we both switched over to armor piercing rounds. We waited for the commandos to get closer to us before jumping out and unloading on them. The two smaller ones with lighter armor were cut down pretty quick, while the one who had heavy armor and the "plasma rifle" stood his ground and fired wildly at us with the weapon. John and I leaped out of the way as the orbs of energy flew down the hallway, impacting on a soda machine.

Sean blasted his biotics at the commando, knocking him over and propelling the weapon out of his hands. Sean quickly ran over, aiming his rifle directly as the heavy commando's head.

"Where the fuck did you get that weapon from?!" Sean yelled out, as me and John both pointed our rifles at him as well. He stayed silent for a bit before Sean smacked him in the head with the butt of the rifle.

"I'm not going to ask you again. Where did you get that weapon from?" Sean reiterated, before the commando finally spoke up.

"I got it for Christmas." The commando answered mockingly, before Sean used an entire heat sink on his head. The commando's helmet looked like a soup can after he was done with it.

"Jesus..." I said in shock, as Sean walked away from the body and picked up the plasma rifle. He hit a button above the trigger that ejected a glowing blue canister, taking a look at it before re-inserting it.

"Are there any more plasma cells on his body?" Sean asked us, as we checked the commando's armor patches for more cells. We found three.

"This is falling apart quickly." I commented as we began to run down the halls. "Now they have plasma weapons, reaper implants, better armor... and the balls to flat-out attack Alliance bases."

"Bah, don't worry. We can still kill them, we just have to put a little more effort into it." Sean reassured, as we checked our corners while going through a wrecked research lab.

"Amen to that, brother." John agreed, as we left the area, into the next section.

We opened the door that led to the trams, hoping to run across some of the surviving security. Instead, we were forced to take cover as the heavy turret in the tram lobby began firing wildly down the hallway we were traveling through.

"I think we've got a small problem!" John shouted, as the machine gun rounds pinged loudly off of the wall behind us. "Luckily, I brought this!"

John extended his M-77 out to its full length, letting a smile slip across it face.

"Who wants to draw their attention so I can get a clean shot?" John asked a few seconds later after attempting to peak over his cover.

"I got a better idea." I said, charging my biotics up. "Everyone follow me!"

I walked into the open, emitting a barrier to block the heavy rounds being indiscriminately fired at us. Sean and John followed up behind me, firing around the barrier to further distract whoever was using the turret. Once we were out of the turret's firing range, we broke from each other and individually engaged the commandos who had taken over the area.

I leaped over the edge of the railing into the receiving area below, quickly extending my blade and landing a clean kill on the commando who was unfortunate enough to be below me. Three more commandos who were bunched up all aimed at me before they were violently melted by Sean's new plasma rifle.

John fired his pulse rifle at another one of the more heavily armored commandos, directly hitting him in the back. The cells stored in the pouches there erupted violently, enveloping the heavy commando and two others in a bright, blue burst of heat. Once the blast was over, nothing but chunks of bluish metal remained.

Sean used the lull caused by this to fry the last two commandos in the security checkpoint's main office.

We quickly got to work on the consoles inside the security station, locking it down and sealing all the doors that fed into the area.

"Area is secure, Sean." I announced, holstering my weapons.

"Good job, everyone." He congratulated, taking off his helmet and taking in a deep breath. "Come on, let's see what we can do about this security lockdown."

After a few minutes of working on the lockdown, I ran across a security recording that hadn't been deleted yet. It showed a woman from the science division shooting all the guards here then enabling the lockdown for this half of the facility. She shot the camera shortly afterward.

"Sean, I think I found the culprit!" I shouted over to him, as he and John ran over to look at it.

"That woman was on the tram with us yesterday." Sean recalled, rubbing his goatee in thought. "She was weird... all she did was stare at me yesterday whenever I saw her."

"Well, I guess we know who tired to kill us now." John commented, pretending to shoot the image of her with his fingers.

"Come on, we still need to disable the lockdown." Sean urged, as we quickly went back to work.

After a minute of working on the consoles, we managed to disable the lockdown for this section of the facility. The moment it dropped, someone entered the system and tried to pull it back up again.

"Allen, you have to go to red alert, Cerberus has taken over the facility and is armed with plasma weapons, I repeat, plasma weapons! Get to a safe distance and await our signal, over." Sean warned, as me and John fought to keep the connection up. After Sean finished, our communications went back down again.

"You think the message got through?" I asked, walking over to take a look at the flat connection bars we had now.

"I hope so." Sean said quietly, before the security cameras for this whole side of the base were reactivated by John.

We could see through the security system again. It was bad, only a few squads of Alliance troops were still alive, and that was just injury-wise. Some had been taken prisoner, and were being taken outside and executed.

"My god... they're being slaughtered like animals out there." John said in anger, slamming his hands on the console. "We gotta get out there and save them!"

"We can't..." Sean denied with sadness in his voice. "We have to get over to the archive and make sure they don't find the weapon designs we were looking for."

"How can you even be sure that these weapon designs even exist?" John rebutted, looking more closely at him. "You are willing to let all those marines outside die for something that might not even exist?"

"Would you rather Cerberus got their hands on another deadly weapon today, John?!" Sean yelled, getting into John's face. "If Cerberus gets a weapon powerful enough to kill Reapers, then our way of life as we know it is fucked!"

John looked down at the ground, before looking back up at Sean.

"Yeah, your right." He reluctantly agreed, looking back at the security footage. "How do you plan on getting over to the archives? Whoever is on the other side has the trams completely locked down."

"I've got a small idea." Sean said, readjusting one of the thrusters attached to his armor.

…

Sean's POV

The three of us ran into the airlock closest to the edge of the sinkhole. We knew the fuel left in our thruster packs alone wasn't enough to reach the archives, so we elected to try something else.

"Are you sure this will work?" John asked nervously, looking out the window as Weigman worked on the controls.

"Why wouldn't it work? We did the same thing when assaulting that derelict geth ship a few years ago." I questioned, checking the seals on my helmet.

"That was with a complete vacuum, this is with an atmosphere and gravity." John corrected, putting his helmet on.

"We'll be fine, don't worry." I reassured, as Weigman started the countdown.

"_Explosive decompression in fifteen seconds._" The computer announced, as it began beeping down.

"Ready for this, Weigman?" I asked, hunched over in preparation for the doors opening.

"As ready as I'll ever be." He replied casually, as the timer hit zero.

The airlock opened, propelling us back out into the harsh martian atmosphere at near breakneck speeds. We fired our thrusters upwards to keep ourselves level as we flew over the massive gap between the main base and the archives.

"I'm losing altitude fast!" John shouted over the comm, as we reached the halfway point between the two sides of the base.

"Increase your thrust, you'll be fine!" I urged loudly, as I saw him level back up again.

As we neared the other side, John's suit ran out of fuel. He yelled in panic as he began to fall.

"I gotcha!" I said with some satisfaction, as I used my biotics to lift him back up.

"I don't have enough fuel left to break, Sean!" Weigman exclaimed, as we neared the other side of the gap.

"I got it under control, just keep going!" I shouted back, as we finally crossed the gap.

I blasted my biotics as hard as I could, stopping everyone in their tracks. I let go, as all of us fell onto the ground with a loud clunk. We all sat there silent for a minute before Weigman spoke up.

"Sean... do you have any German in you by any chance?" He said with a small chuckle, staring up at the sky as he lay immobile on his back.

"I'm conflicted on what to make of that question." I said with sarcasm, pushing myself back to my feet. "Care to elaborate?"

"I was under the impression that Germans are smart, but lack common sense." Weigman mocked, as he struggled to get back on his feet.

"So you're implying that my idea was poorly thought out?" I continued, helping to pull him up.

"I suppose you could say that." He finished, as John walked over and punched me in the side of the head.

"You are never making me do anything like that ever again!" John yelled, pointing hard at me as I simply shrugged his punch off. "Fucking asshole!"

I nodded silently, as we looked around for an airlock. We eventually found one and got inside, the airlock sealing with another loud hiss.

"Do you think Liara is still alive?" Weigman asked, fixing his hood as the airlock cycled.

"I'm sure of it, don't worry." I reassured, taking the newly acquired plasma rifle off my back. "We'll come across her eventually."

The moment the airlock door opened we were instantly suppressed by a hail of gunfire. We took cover behind what little wall there was, as a grenade was thrown through the doorway.

"Fore!" I yelled, using the plasma rifle's stock as a golf club, smacking it back at them. It exploded violently into a blue cloud of plasma, killing two instantly. "Go, go, go!"

We quickly took advantage of the confusion, rushing inside and gunning down the bunched up commandos before they could figure out what was going on. One of them charged at me with a combat knife, but I cut cleanly through his lightly covered neck with my arm blade before he could even get a swing in.

"Well... now we just need to find the actual archives." John commented casually, picking up one of the grenades the commandos had been equipped with. "Nasty new weapons..."

John was interrupted as gunfire could be heard coming from the adjacent room. We opened the doors to find we were above a large motor pool. We looked over the catwalk to see a group of people under attack from more commandos. One of the people, an asari, created a stasis field, giving two surviving Alliance marines a chance to finish off the commandos.

"I think we've found Liara." I announced with a small smile, taking off my helmet and looking to John and Weigman. "Let's go say hi."

"Sean, good to see you." Liara greeted with a handshake after we had walked down to meet her. "I knew you and your friends would show up eventually."

"We were starting to worry that something had happened to you." I commented, looking at the other survivors just as a cautionary step. "Good to see you saved some people."

"I tried as hard as I could, but these new Cerberus troops are tough." She said with a bit of exhaustion in her voice. "Do you have any idea how they got inside? I don't know how they managed to even get this close to the base without being detected."

"We found some security footage of one of the members of the science division killing all the guards in the main security station." Weigman explained, holstering his plasma cutters. "She was wearing a tight bodysuit, had black hair that curled into points like this."

"That must be Dr. Eva Core." Liara theorized, rubbing her chin. "She joined the team just a few weeks ago."

"In any case, she or someone else with the commandos managed to shut off our docking clamps. If it wasn't for our VI, the Endar Spire would be a flaming wreck at the bottom of that sinkhole." I added, rubbing the developing bruise on my forehead. "We have to assume they're going after the archives."

"We know, we came down here to see if we could find something to get the doors open with." One of the marines said, walking over. "They're sealed tight because of that lockdown. We need something powerful to get inside."

I looked around, spotting a large rack of compressed oxygen. Calling over John and Weigman, I explained just the way to get inside.

…

All of us hid behind what little cover there was in the reception area. After clearing out the entrenched commandos, we rolled in a few large canisters of compressed air and used a few heavy benches to create an improvised shaped charge.

The canisters exploded with enough force to shatter all the windows in the reception area. When we pulled our heads back up from cover, we saw a perfectly shaped hole for us to climb through. I directed the two marines to stay here with the remaining scientists, while we scoured the area.

Once inside, I directed Weigman and John to investigate, while Liara and I checked on the status of the archives.

It was then I heard a familiar voice.

"Sean." I heard the Illusive Man say clearly, as me and Liara turned to face him.

"Illusive Man." Liara stated, pointing her pistol at his hologram. "Now we know why Cerberus is here."

"You don't know the half of it." TIM started, before taking a drag from his cigarette. "The Protheans left us these archives, a wealth of information, and it's been squandered."

"What the hell do you want, Jack?" I asked, taking a few steps towards him.

"What I've always wanted." He answered slowly, looking up at the archives. "The data in these artifacts hold the key to solving the Reaper threat."

"What, so you're solution involves turning your own people into monstrosities?" I asked, perplexed at his sudden back-handed tactics.

"Hardly, they're being improved." TIM rebutted, setting off a serious bullshit alarm inside my head.

"Improved? That's bullshit, and you know it." I shot back, as TIM looked off into the distance at something on his end. "We need to destroy the Reapers, not start playing Joesf Mengele with people's lives."

"That's what separates us, Sean. Where you see a means to destroy, I see a way to control, to dominate and harvest the Reapers' power." TIM stated, looking back to me. "Imagine how strong humanity would be, if we control them."

"You've fallen farther into madness than I thought." I remarked, as he frowned at me. "All life in the galaxy is on the verge of annihilation, and you want to crack a scheme to try and control them?!"

"I don't expect you, of all people, to understand, and I'm certainly not looking for your approval." TIM remarked in a deadpan, staring me down. "There was once a time where you could have helped humanity, but that has long since passed. I've gotten what I've needed from your team, and like the other relics in this place, your time has come to an end."

"You stole the design of my BFG while I was imprisoned on that station, didn't you?!" I shouted at TIM, as he shot me the biggest grin I ever saw off of a man so evil. "You son of a bitch!"

"Don't be so bitter, you've contributed a great weapon to Cerberus, even if we weren't able to perfectly replicate it." TIM said, taking another drag from his cigarette before smiling again. "Thank you for your contributions, Commander."

"Sean!" Liara called over, as I walked back over to the main console.

"What's wrong?" I asked, seeing her disposition slowly become more dire.

"The data, it's not here... it's being erased." She said, trying as fast as she could to try and find it.

"Goodbye, Sean." TIM finished, as he disconnected and his hologram faded away.

"Shit, that little bitch must be around here somewhere." I remarked, looking around the room to see if anything was off.

Suddenly, I saw the archive lights go out as Eva Core ran like a bat outta hell through the chamber. I fired a few shots at her as she fled, but she was moving so fast none of them connected.

"She's got the data, take her down!" John shouted, as all of us started running after her.

The alliance personnel outside the archive fired at her, but she was still too fast. We chased her into a long hallway, where she depressurized the whole area and made a break for the surface. After making it to the surface, I plucked a flare gun out on my coat and fired it into the air.

"Bastila, do you read me?" I asked out loud, getting nothing but distorted audio back. "Cerberus is attempting to exfil with our data, get your asses down here now!"

A Cerberus shuttle swooped in to attempt an emergency pickup, but John fired a few rockets at it forcing it to take back off. We pursued her into an area that was being expanded on, before she quickly climbed back onto the roof where the Cerberus shuttle had relocated. Eva Core jumped in, just as we reached the roof ourselves.

"Damn it, where the hell are you guys?!" I yelled into my comm, as I fired my pulse rifle at the shuttle wildly. "Knock them out of the sky!"

Suddenly, the Endar Spire emerged roaring from the sinkhole, the port side facing the little shuttle. The GARDIAN lasers on the side of the ship lit up, swatting the shuttles out of the sky. Unfortunately, that sent it on a direct crash course for us.

"Watch out!" I shouted, as it slammed into the support structure, reducing it to scrap. We barely managed to get out of the way in time, as small bits of flaming debris fell down around us. "Everyone alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Weigman grumbled, as he held his head in pain. "Just fucking fine."

"We need that data." Liara urged, as I helped her back up. "Did any of them survive?"

"I don't think so." I answered after staring at the wreck. "Maybe her omni-tool is still intact."

"Am I the only one wondering how she survived not wearing a helmet out her-" Weigman began to question, as loud bangs could suddenly be heard coming from the shuttle. To my ultimate surprise, a badly burned gynoid pushed debris off of her and climbed out of the wreck, eying all of us up.

"What the god damned-" John shouted, attempting to shoot its before it grabbed him by the helmet and lifted him off of the ground.

I took advantage of the lull and pushed the gynoid off her feet with my biotics, causing her to fall on top of John. With the clear shot I now had, I unloaded on the robot as John yelled loudly.

"Gah, what the hell!" He shouted frantically, pushing the smoking gynoid off of his chest. It hit the ground with a loud clank, unmoving.

"It looks like she was about to rip you apart, John." Weigman quipped with some relief in his voice, helping John up. "Nice shots, Sean."

"Thanks, I wasn't going to let that thing beat the shit outta him." I remarked, holstering my pulse rifle as I looked to Weigman. "Take that thing to the ship, she's got the data stored inside of her."

"_Sean, we need to get out of here now!_" Sydney shouted over the comm, as the static faded away.

"Why, what happened while we were in there?" I inquired, as the other survivors managed to catch up.

"_It's the Reapers, Sean._" Thomas said, sounding... almost scared. "_They've attacked Earth, and they're coming here next._"

My heart dropped, as Weigman and John froze at the announcement. I honestly didn't know how to react, they weren't supposed to be here that soon.

"Sean, we have to leave before the Reapers arrive." Liara urged, snapping me out of the trance I was in.

"Everyone haul ass, we need to leave now!" I shouted, motioning everyone towards the open hangar of our ship.

Once everyone was on-board, we quickly sped off without a second thought. The nearby status station in the back of the hangar wall lit up with hostile signatures of unknown origin as we left the atmosphere, jumping into FTL the moment we were free of Mars' gravity well.

After giving the survivors a temporary residence in one of our spare barracks, I walked slowly back to my trashed room and looked out the window at the passing stars.

There was no denying it now. The Reaper War had begun, and shrugging it off with air quotes certainly wasn't going to be an option for anyone this time around.

…

**A/N: Things begin to heat up as Cerberus makes their new intentions known, and unveil new tools of destruction to use in their conquest. Things only get more difficult from this point on, and the Reaper threat certainly won't be helping things either.**

**I thought adding the Plasma Rifle from Doom 3 would be an interesting way to make Cerberus "slightly" more dangerous in Mass Effect 3. Considering it was what I was originally going to give Sean in ME1, and the fact that it and the BFG are plasma-based weapons, I think it fits in pretty well.**

**Here's a video showcasing the Plasma Rifle, in case you were curious: /watch?v=WUJFNWfMEP8**

**It makes my favorite firing and reloading sounds for any weapon i've ever using in a video game, even beating out the M1 Garand's "ping" clip ejection sound.**


	74. Meeting With The Council

…

12 Hours Later

Our ship shuttered as we exited FTL, revealing the Citadel once more. I was kind of surprised, I would have imagined that there would be hundreds of military vessels here, but the Citadel fleet was just as big as it normally was. That perplexed me in a very... concerning way.

But where there were no extra military ships, there were literally thousands of civilian ships clogging up the airspace around the station itself. There were so many ships, it actually created a grayish cloud the closer you got to the actual station itself. The Council must have known about the attack on Earth.

Things had been very... tense since we left Mars. Everyone had been silently working around the ship without talking to one another, with the exception of me checking on Thomas and his arm. Liara and Bastila were trying to crack the memory core of that Cerberus gynoid, but were having little luck so far. I tried to contact Hackett, but there was no response. I really hoped he was alright.

After working our way through the chaotic space traffic, we immediately docked and hired a repair crew to fix our broken airlock. I told everyone they had shore leave until Liara and I returned from the Presidium. We were going to present our findings from the archives to the Council and report on new developments.

I wasn't looking forward to it, and Liara could tell something was off.

"What is wrong, Sean?" She asked, as we waited for our elevator to arrive.

"Let's just say I'm not looking forward to talking to the people who denied the existence of the Reapers until they were on our doorstep." I explained with a sigh, folding my hands nervously behind my back. "Just the thought of looking at them makes me angry."

"I'm sure we'll be fine... as long as you don't start yelling at them." Liara said, sounding slightly sly as she finished.

"Trust me, you have no idea how appealing that is to me at the moment." I replied, as the elevator arrived. Who was inside completely caught me by surprise.

"Shepard!" I said in a sudden burst of happiness, giving her a hug strong enough to lift her off of the ground. "You have no idea how nice it is to see another friendly face!"

It was only then I looked at her harder. She had several small cuts on her face, and one large bandage covering part of her forehead.

Whatever had happened back on Earth had clearly taken a toll on her.

"Same can be said for you, considering how well my day has been going." She returned in a dry tone, turning to Liara and nodding in a friendly fashion.

We stepped into the elevator with Shepard, as she punched in the Presidium as our destination.

"So... I heard you guys had a rough time on Mars." Shepard started off as our long elevator ride began.

"Wait, who told you about that?" I asked, considering Hackett was the only person I tried contacting.

"Hackett did." Shepard replied in a deadpan, cracking her neck. "He received your report, but he... was busy making some hard choices when you called."

"We passed by the wreckage of Arcturus Station when we traveled here." I started, looking closer at her. "What happened there? What happened on Earth?"

"...the Fourth Fleet was obliterated when the Reapers attacked Earth, and Hackett was forced to sacrifice the Second Fleet to give the Third and Fifth Fleets a chance to escape from Sol." Shepard reluctantly explained with crossed arms. "The Reapers completely bypassed our colonies to attack Earth itself."

"Oh god... I had no idea." I said in complete surprise. "Cerberus reared it's ugly head, trying to steal these schematics with experimental weapons and soldiers outfitted with reaper implants."

"Great, as if we didn't have enough to worry about." Shepard sighed, rubbing the bandage on her forehead. "So Liara... Mars? There was a Prothean super weapon just sitting there in the archives this whole time?"

"Yes, though it was hidden in a heavily encrypted part of the database. There was no way to access it until Sean recovered several Prothean data keys from a Cerberus dig a few months ago." She explained, pulling said key out of one of her pockets. "It took a little bit of luck and desperation to discover the Mars archives were the ones the keys belonged to."

Shepard then arrived at the question that had been pegging me as well since we had left Mars.

"Any idea what this weapon is supposed to do, exactly?" She asked, as I turned to focus on Liara.

"I don't know... I haven't had much time to examine the schematics." Liara replied, as the elevator doors slid open, revealing the human embassy.

"Well... I suppose we'll have to figure that out later." Shepard said, looking to the two of us with a slightly concerned expression on her face. "Come on, let's not keep the esteemed council waiting."

We walked through the packed embassy towards the offices in the back, before having to go through another checkpoint. No real interruptions this time, unlike at the committee meeting.

We jogged over to Anderson's office, only to find an asari secretary waiting for us.

"Ah, Commanders, Councilor Udina is waiting for you at the meeting." She said, walking towards us. "Follow me."

"Shepard, when did Udina become the human councilor?" I asked with a little bit of anger. "You picked Anderson for that seat."

"Anderson quit and gave the position to Udina. He apparently couldn't stand it, and went back to the military." She quickly explained, as we entered the elevator to the Council chambers. "He was with me on Earth when the Reapers attacked."

"Well, I hope he's alright." I wished, as we neared closer the Council chambers.

We walked up the large set of stairs, hearing Udina bicker with the Council as we got closer. I had to note in my head how the council chambers hadn't changed a bit over the last two and a half years... there was something unnerving about it.

"... but Earth was the first Council word hit. By our reports, it faces the brunt of the attack." Udina argued with the other three Council members as we reached the top of the stairway.

"By your reports." The salarian councilor countered, causing the room to get slightly more quiet as we approached.

"The reports are accurate. Earth was attacked- by the Reapers." Shepard announced as the three of us reached the platform.

"And it's just the beginning." I finished off, as I nodded to Shepard.

"We need your help. Everything you can spare." Shepard told them, leaving a void of silence hanging over the room once more.

"Each of us faces a similar situation. Even now, the Reapers are pressing on our boarders." The asari councilor finally said, looking hard at the three of us. "If we lend you our strength to help Earth, our own worlds will fall."

"We must fight this enemy together!" Udina insisted, gaining the attention of the councilors.

"And so we should just follow you to Earth?" The salarian councilor exclaimed with something close to outrage, as the turian councilor held up his hand to stop the conversation. He looked hard at us, something I've never seen him do before.

"Even if we were to unite our fleets, do you really believe that we could defeat the Reapers?" The councilor asked, focusing exclusively on us.

"I don't expect you to follow us without a plan." I said, looking over to Liara, who nodded and stepped forward.

"Councilors... we have that plan. A blueprint. Created by the Protheans during their war with the Reapers." Liara began to explain, as the councilors shifted in interest.

"A blueprint for what?" The turian councilor inquired, folding his hands behind his back.

"We're still piecing it together... but it appears to be a weapon of some sort." Liara continued, projecting the holographic blueprints into the open where everyone could see them.

"Capable of destroying the Reapers?" The salarian councilor asked, holding his chin in thought.

"So it would seem." Liara finished, keeping the projection up.

"The scale is... it would be a colossal undertaking." The salarian councilor said, not knowing what else to say.

"I already forwarded the plans to Admiral Hackett." I replied, taking a step forward. "Our remaining fleets are already gathering resources to begin building it."

"Our initial calculations suggest it is very feasible to build..." Liara added, as I looked back to Shepard.

"...If we work together." Shepard finished, as we all looked back at the Council.

"Have you considered that the Reapers destroyed the Protheans?" The asari councilor brought up, looking between the three of us. "What good did this weapon do?"

"It was incomplete. There was a missing component. Here." Liara explained, pointing out a familiar looking object. "Something referred to only as the Catalyst... but they ran out of time before they could finish building it."

I focused hard of the object, knowing I have seen it somewhere... then I remembered.

That was the same thing we recovered from that Cerberus facility a year and a half ago. The same one the Protheans had shown us in their vision. We have the missing component!

"Do you really believe this can stop the Reapers?" The turian councilor asked, snapping my attention back to the moment at hand.

"Liara and Sean believe it can work, and so do I." Shepard announced with confidence. "And while I haven't always agreed with Udina, he's right about this... we need to stand together. Now, more than ever."

"The Reapers won't stop at Earth. They'll kill every last one of us and turn us into monstrosities... if we don't work together and stop them." I finished off, getting a nod of approval from Shepard.

"The cruel and unfortunate truth is that while the Reapers focus on Earth, we can prepare and regroup." The asari councilor said in a deadened tone, as Udina buried his fingers into his forehead out of frustration.

"We are convening a summit amongst our species. If we can manage to secure our own boarders, we once again may consider aiding you." The salarian councilor explained, as Shepard and I shot each other knowing looks.

"I'm sorry, Commander. That is the best we can do." The asari councilor said with finality, as all of them except of Udina walked off the platform.

"Shepard, Sean, meet me in my office." He said, quickly, before walking off.

The three of us just looked at each other with the same expression. We knew what was coming next.

…

Ten Minutes Later

There was a long, drawn out discussion about the Council before, to my surprise, the turian councilor walked in and started telling Shepard about some way to get favor with the turian hierarchy. For what end or purpose, I didn't know. They didn't discuss it around me, they left the room to talk about it somewhere else, leaving me and Udina alone in his office.

"Well... that could have gone better." I said casually, taking a seat in front of Udina's desk.

"They're nothing but a bunch of self-concerned jackasses, Sean." He replied in pent up anger, letting himself drop into the oversized office chair behind his desk. "No matter what we do, humanity will always be considered second-rate."

"I can understand wanting to protect your borders, but not even giving a single bit of aid to your allies?" I remarked, crossing my arms as I leaned back into the chair. "That's just cruel."

The two of us sat in silence for a few moments, before Udina looked back up at me.

"What exactly does your group do, Commander?" He asked, sitting straighter in his chair. "Frankly, there have been a lot of wild stories circulating around Alliance channels, and I'm not sure what to believe."

"What do you want to know, Councilor?" I asked with raised eyebrows and folded hands.

"Admiral Hackett informed me that you have a history with the Migrant Fleet." He started, getting out of his chair folding his hands behind his back. "Is this true?"

"Yes, I've been to the fleet a few times. I had to defend a member of my crew from a charge of treason a few months ago, and managed to preserve her honor." I explained as best I could. "Why do you ask?"

"We've been trying to initiate talks with the quarians ever since word of the Reapers spread, and only now we've managed to gain their attention." He explained, looking out the windows of the office as he spoke, pacing back and fourth. "Their fleet, being the largest in the galaxy, would be an incredible asset for both building the Crucible and for securing our boarders."

"Are you telling me you want me to liaison between the Council races and the Migrant Fleet?" I asked, starting to see where this was going.

"Yes, though I suspect it won't be very easy." He confirmed, looking back at me. "The quarians are currently at war with the Geth, and aren't going to easily hand over support. It doesn't help that they are still barred from having an embassy as well..."

"That much is understandable, but are you really sure you want me to go there with my team?" I asked with caution in my voice.

"You are one of the only humans in the Alliance who has had first-hand experience with the quarian political system." He continued, putting both his hands on his desk. "Admiral Hackett thinks you are right for the job, and I can't see any reason to disagree."

I looked down at the ground, pondering the assignment in my head. It didn't take long to come up with an answer.

"I'll do it." I agreed, standing up and shaking Udina's hand. "Send any extra information you can to my ship and I'll look over it."

"Don't mess this up, Commander." Udina warned, pointing at me. "If we don't get any support from the Council, they may very well be our only support."

…

"Alright, here's what's going on." I started, using one of the dangling chains in the hanger to hoist myself onto a crate. "The Council, in their infinite wisdom, has refused to send help to Earth. We all knew that was going to happen, so don't bother acting surprised."

"Trust me, at this point, nothing surprises me at all." Allen quipped with crossed arms, pacing back and fourth nervously.

"So what's our move then?" Weigman asked, leaning against our battered shuttle. "I know we're not just going to sit here and wait for the Reapers to destroy everything."

"Come on, what fun would that be?" I replied with a quick smile. "Me, Shepard and Liara have convinced the council to support the "Crucible Project", but with the Reapers breathing down their necks, they need more support than they alone can muster."

"Let me guess... we're going to visit the Migrant Fleet, who are currently in their own little war, and try to convince them to help us build this... Crucible." Sydney put together accurately, surprising me.

"You hit the nail right on the head, Sydney." I agreed, as John and Thomas gave huffs of approval. "However, we have something to do before we get around to that."

"Really, something else?" Thomas inquired, taking a bite out of an apple. "What is it?"

"Bastila? Do you want to explain?" I offered, as her hologram appeared next to me.

"With pleasure." She agreed, taking one of her hands out from behind her back and emitting a hologram of Grissom Academy from her palm. "About three hours ago, Grissom Academy sent out an emergency broadcast asking for immediate evacuation. It was answered by a turian ship, and the signal has since gone dark."

"So, what's the issue?" John asked, holding up one of his hands in confusion. "A turian patrol saved the students. What more is there?"

"The turian signal is identical to the one The Illusive Man used to draw us to the Collector ship a few months ago." I explained, causing their eyes to light up.

"Oh, those bastards..." Weigman exclaimed under his breath, looking down at the floor panels.

"Cerberus is after the academy... I don't know why, but if there's anyone over there, we're going to save them." I finished, nodding at Bastila. "Get combat prepped, we're heading out in half an hour."

…

**A/N: I'm sorry for the quality of this chapter, and for how long it took to come out. I've been in a very big transitional period for the last month or so, and with other obligations stacked on that, I've had quite the writer's block.**

**To make up for how shitty this chapter is, I've pushed the Grissom Academy mission forward which I had already written a while ago. To make up for this horrid chapter and my time absent, I will upload it today.**

**Please remember to fav and review my story, guys. This is GIR, signing off.**


	75. Grissom Academy

Sean's POV

The Endar Spire shuttered as the FTL drives turned off. Already in the distance I could see a vaguely cross-shaped space station, with a large sphere in the middle. Not even three seconds later and the radar was already lit up with hostile pings.

"Ah, I see we're not the only ones to respond to this distress call." Sydney remarked bitterly from the cockpit, zooming in on the signatures. "Three lovely Cerberus cruisers, along with two compliments of fighters blocking our path."

"Fucking figures." I said with rising anger, as I began to pace back and forth. "Those new Cerberus fighters will be hard to take down without taking some damage ourselves... and I don't want to risk hitting the station."

"Incoming transmission." Bastila announced, her avatar popping up in the middle of the bridge.

"Let's hear it." I replied, staring as the cruiser in the distance.

"_SSV Endar Spire, this is Kahlee Sanders, director of Grissom Academy. We need immediate assistance._" A worried voice quietly surprised me, sounding very worried about the current situation. "_Cerberus is attacking the facility, they're after my students._"

"_Kahlee Sanders... interesting._" I thought in my head, remembering years ago when I had read Mass Effect: Revelations. I had to quickly put myself back on track. "This is Commander Nomad... we appear to have a reasonable force in our path right now and can't see a direct approach at this moment."

"_I know, they've taken control of our docking bays._" She said, sounding more worried. "_There's an auxiliary docking bay I can probably open._"

"Alright then, you get that bay open, and we'll get your students out of there." I reassured, leaning against the back of Sydney's chair as the transmission ended. I looked at Sydney and smirked. "Sydney... think you can give those fighters a run for their money?"

"I don't know... feelin' lucky?" She challenged, looking over her shoulder at me with an equally sneaky grin.

"That's what I like to hear." I said, patting her chair once more time before turning to leave. "Bastila, get John and Allen down to the shuttle ASAP."

Bastila nodded understandingly, as the bridge doors closed behind me.

…

John piloted the shuttle out of the ship as quickly as he could. Not even a second after the hanger doors sealed behind us, Sydney propelled full-blast towards the station. Me and Allen watched from our seats as small pinpoints of light whizzed around the Spire like a swarm of glowing bees. I could see Bastila return fire with the belly cannon and the pulse lasers before Sydney gunned the FTL drives and blasted of sight. Three seconds later, we were inside.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" John asked from the pilot's seat as the bay pressurized itself. "I could have Bastila remotely pilot this thing."

"Bastila gets sluggish when she's too far away." I reasoned, leaning in the doorway. "I'll need you at the controls if the shit ends up hitting the fan."

"Right then, I'll stay here and wait for you to call me." John agreed with some slight reluctance.

Me and Allen quickly moved inside the station, checking the corners as we moved through the hallways. It was plainly obvious that there had been some serious fighting around here, with large scorch marks and broken panels dotting our paths.

"Alright, so we have a bunch of students to save, meaning we should watch our fire in here." I said out loud, moving as quickly and quietly as I could. "Any ideas?"

"We go in guns blazing." Allen replied in a dull tone. "As usual."

"Right, good plan." I agreed, moving towards the end of the hallway.

"_Commander, I'm locked in a server room just around the corner._" Kahlee radioed to me as I opened the next door. "_Cerberus troops are trying to get in._"

A room with glass security windows could be seen on the other side of the hallway, along with four of the aforementioned troopers. One of them shouted to get ready for a breach, just as me and Allen opened fire. One of them managed to get behind cover, though this did little good after I disintegrated said cover with my biotics.

"Very tough… going after college students." Allen said sarcastically, kicking one of the dead troopers in their helmeted head.

"We've taken care of the troopers, Kahlee, you can open the door now." I said through the gap in the door. A few seconds later, the doors slid open. As soon as we set foot inside, she drew her shotgun on me. I thought the polite thing to do would be to take my helmet off. After taking a judging look at the both of us, she lowered her weapon.

"Commander, thank you. I've heard good things about you and your team." She thanked, walking over to me. "And with Cerberus coming for my students, I need the best."

"How many of your students are there?" I asked, placing my helmet on the ledge.

"Fewer than twenty." She answered quickly walking over to one of the terminals. "Most were sent home when word of the Reaper invasion spread. A few volunteered to stay. Some are prototyping tech for the Alliance."

"Others are biotics." She answered quickly, typing feverishly on the console. "They've been training for military operations, working together as biotic artillery."

"You've heard about my team?" I asked with curiosity, not sure on exactly all the details Hackett had spread about us.

"Not much escapes my ear, Commander." She said quickly, looking at the two of us. "I've heard about your covert missions to disrupt Cerberus, your special training, and a few other unconfirmed things. Tell me... is it true you and Commander Shepard entered the Omega 4 relay?"

"Yeah, it's quite true... also quite terrifying." I described, thinking back a few months.

"Fascinating... anyways, that discussion will have to wait." Kahlee stopped herself, looking back at me.

"I'm pretty sure a few academy classes aren't enough to prepare your students for war." I guessed, rolling my neck around.

"Agreed, but the Alliance needs every resource it can get, and my students are unique... resources." She paused, looking back to her console. "They wanted to help, how could we say no with the entire galaxy falling apart?"

The screen in front of her suddenly buzzed with static, as she redirected her attention.

"_bzzzz- This is Froberg! The students are trapped in Orion Hall! Cerberus has us boxed in, they're closing fast!_" A quick and frantic transmission rung out, then cut off.

"Damn it!" Kahlee exclaimed, slamming her palm on the desk.

"Sounds like we better get to Orion Hall." I said, walking back over to the entrance and putting my helmet back on.

"Back down the door and down the hallway, I can get the door open." Kahlee said quickly, as her focused re-shifted to the terminal.

"I'll bring them back here, and then we'll all make a run for my ship." I told her quickly, as she thanked me and said she would stay put.

Me and Allen made our way through the doorway only to see a yelling student being dragged off. We both shot at the glass, but it was completely bulletproof, so bulletproof that the troopers didn't even hear or see the shots.

"Damn it!" I yelled in anger, as I ran over and punched the glass with my bionic arm, leaving a small crack.

"Come on, we need to get to the other students before something happens to them." Allen reasoned, as we kept moving. Cerberus was spamming their bullshit over the station's whole intercom system, which was really pissing me off.

We opened the next section to find one of the biotics holding Cerberus at bay with a barrier. They were trying to get him to let up. We made sure that didn't happen with some loud protests from our weapons.

"Listen, there's still more nearby." I whispered to the student, crouching next to him. "Play dead for now, and then go to security. Kahlee Sanders is over there."

"Okay, but my sister Seanne is around here somewhere, too." He informed me as he got down on the floor."

"We'll find her, don't worry." I reassured, as me and Allen moved on. We passed through one classroom before plasma bolts erupted on the other side of the next one, dropping a student instantly. We both got behind cover.

"Watch the headshots! Orders are to take them alive!" One of the Cerberus troops shouted in anger, as he and another troop walked over to the body. "Check the body, who was it?"

"Honaker, some kind of math genius. Low priority." The other trooper said casually.

"Bastards!" I shouted, as Allen and I burst out of cover, gunning the troopers down. I walked over, looking at the body. "Fuck, Cerberus is pulling all the stops this time on the asshole-o-meter."

"You got that right." Allen agreed, shooting the first trooper again. "Let's keep going."

In the next lobby we found an injured student lying on the ground.

"Stay back... I'll...I'll..." She started to say with charged biotics before giving up.

"Seanne?" I asked, crouching next to her and applying medi-gel to her wounds.

"How do you know my name?" She asked, looking harder at me.

"I saved your brother in the other wing, he's with Kahlee Sanders in security." I told her, helping her to her feet. "Can you get there on your own?"

"Yeah, I just need to rest for a minute." She shrugged off, leaning against the wall. "Thank you."

The two of us hurried down the next corridor, only to get another transmission from Kahlee.

"_Commander, I just got another emergency transmission from Orion Hall._" She said quickly as static filled the line. "_Their instructor is with them, but they aren't going to hold out much longer._"

"We'll get to them, don't worry." I reassured, as we ran across a Cerberus terminal that had been set up here.

"This looks pretty important." Allen remarked, as he riddled the terminal with bullets. As if God was actually making a full-hearted effort to help my sanity, the Cerberus bullshit over the intercom finally stopped.

"_What just happened?_" Kahlee quickly messaged in surprise. "_I just got back the intercoms._"

"We found a terminal that Cerberus had set up." I radioed in, still looking at the smoking hulk Allen had created.

"_So that's what was jamming the systems..._" She remarked in realization. "_If you find anymore, make sure to destroy them._"

"No problem." I agreed, as me and Allen continued through the door. Kahlee's voice rung out through the section to tell the remaining students that she was alive, just as we entered Orion Hall.

"Well, would you look who it is..." I said with a smile as me and Allen moved in.

Jack shouted "eat this!" as she launched two Cerberus troops into a wall with a sickening thud. She was covering two of her students as plasma bolts soared over her head.

"Jack?" I asked in surprise as me and Allen wandered closer.

"Sean?" She questioned in the same fashion as a loud bang resonated from the left side of the hall. A Cerberus Atlas squeezed through its new entrance as it aimed its missile launcher at one of the students. Jack quickly jumped in front of him and put up a barrier, barely deflecting the blast. It managed to finish squeezing through just in time for me to launch a powerful ball of energy at it, re-directing its attention towards us.

"Everyone get down, this thing's outta your league!" Jack shouted, herding her students upstairs. "Sean, keep it off us!"

Me and Allen moved quickly, simultaneously throwing HE grenades at the lumbering mech. After mine exploded first, Allen's managed to take out one of its legs. The mech fell right down on its face, effectively disabling it. We weren't treated too much of a breather as a whole slew of troops surged in through the hole the Atlas had created. After three minutes and a lot of biotic blasts from the balcony above, things had finally quieted down in Orion Hall.

"Kahlee said she was putting out an S.O.S. I had no idea Lover Boy would show up." Jack said with a smile, looking down at us, then to her students as I took off my helmet. "All right, amp check! Prangly, those fields were weak. Cerberus isn't going to lie down in pity like that girl you took to prom. Grab juice and an energy bar, we move out in five."

Jack then jumped over the edge and landed with her biotics, walking over and giving me a HARD punch to the face.

"Damn it, you told me you would get the Alliance ready for when Cerberus eventually attacked!" Jack said with anger, staring me down.

"I tried my best, but Hackett can only do so much at once." I replied in anger, cracking my neck. "There are plenty of times I've tried."

"Oh, you tried?" Jack said sarcastically, taking another step forward. "Well shit, I bet that's a big comfort to all the people that Cerberus has killed."

"I see you still haven't changed..." Allen commented, walking over.

"Good to see you again, Allen." Jack greeted with folded arms. "The hair still makes you look like shit."

"I love you too, sir." Allen replied sarcastically. "How about we get back on track?"

"Okay...right now, all I care about is getting my guys out of here." Jack refocused, looking at both of us.

"Your guys, huh?" I replied, looking up at her eavesdropping students.

"Yeah, I guess so..." She finished, looking up too.

"I can't imagine anyone better for looking after them." I complemented, setting my helmet down on a ledge.

"Well, I had some free time while you were off playing boogeyman to Cerberus." She said, waving her arm as she finished. "Alliance brass knew that I helped out you and Shepard. They offered me this, and apparently the students responded well to my teaching style."

"The psychotic biotic!" One of the students jokingly said down to us, followed by "I will destroy you!" from another.

"Drink your juice, Rodriguez." Jack countered, focusing on her. "You couldn't destroy wet tissue paper."

"_Yo, guys, are you there?_" John radioed in, breaking off our conversation. "_Those cruisers are coming back._"

"ETA?" I asked, as Jack looked over at us.

"_About two minutes, tops._" John answered, as me and Allen gave each other worried looks. "_After that, there is no way we're getting out of here in our shuttle._"

"...Fuck." I said, shaking my head. "Tell Bastila to remotely get the shuttle back, and come to Orion Hall. We'll find another way out of here."

"_Understood._" John finished as static began to set in. "_I'll be over there in a bit._"

"Sean to Sanders, the students are fine, but our original extraction plan is not happening." I radioed in, looking at Jack and her students upstairs. "Also, one of my men will be passing through, so give him some directions."

"_Understood. I might know another way off the station, but I need station-wide camera access._" She said quickly. "_Can you disable the Cerberus security override? It's routed through Orion Hall, so it should be there somewhere._"

"How do security cameras get us off of this station?" I asked, picking up my helmet and putting it back on.

"_We need to reach the Cerberus shuttles. Their cruisers won't auto-target friendly ships, which gives us a fighting chance to escape._" Kahlee explained, as me and Allen began looking around the hall for another one of those damned portable terminals. "_Those cameras will let me plot a safe path._"

Our search was temporarily interrupted as the Cerberus trooper who had been piloting the Atlas crawled out, grunting in pain. As he tried to grab his plasma rifle, I took out my 500. and put a round directly through his helmet. After looking for five minutes, we finally found the terminal tucked in a corner near where we came into the room. Allen kicked it a few times before the lights when out.

"You should have camera access now, Kahlee." I said quickly, looking over at the other end of the hall as a door opened. John came running over, panting.

"_Alright, give me a few minutes and I'll give you a safe path._" Kahlee said quickly, cutting the line.

"Holy shit, you dudes left one hell of path for me to follow." John said, leaning against his legs as he looked up at us.

"You act as if that's anything new." I remarked with crossed arms, looking around the room at the destruction that occurred a while ago. "We can do twice the damage with you here."

"Sure I can." He agreed sarcastically, adjusting his jolly-roger printed shoulder plates. "Remember that time I got shot in the shoulder... oh wait, you weren't there."

"Hey, remember the time I lost my fucking arm?" I shot back, not picking up on his sarcasm as I took a few steps towards him. "Oh wait, you weren't there."

"I was." Allen said, drawing both our eyes towards him.

"Bah, forget it." I dismissed, walking over to Jack who was silently listening to us.

"Are you morons going to spend all day yelling at each other, or are you going to help us find a damn way off of this station?" Jack asked with crossed arms, and an unamused expression.

"Kahlee is busy plotting a path for us right now, don't worry." I answered, looking up at the balcony above. "So... how are your guys handling the reaper threat?"

"How do you think? They're a bunch of teenagers." Jack remarked softly, glancing up. "A few months ago, their biggest concern was getting laid."

"Heh... that doesn't sound too far off from us a while ago..." I remarked with some humor, trying to liven things up. "The only problem is... we've had almost four years of experience, they have a few days. They aren't ready for war."

"I don't think they have a choice." Jack remarked bitterly, as static burst out of my omni-tool.

"_Alright, I have a path._" Kahlee messaged quickly. "_The fastest way is through the Atrium. I'll go on ahead and get a pair of shuttles ready for us to fly._"

"Understood." I agreed, nodding my head and turning back to Jack. "Stick close with us. We'll get you all out of here."

Jack shouted to her students to get down as the three of us proceeded down the hallway. Allen and I pulled the damaged door open.

"All of you better stay on your toes, it's going to be all-out war from here on out." I said to Jack and her students who were standing at the other end of the hall.

"We'll shadow you from the second floor and hit those fu... those guys from above." Jack said, stopping herself half sentence.

"Sounds good." I agreed, nodding my head as I turned on the emitter attached to my prosthetic.

As Jack said some rousing words for her students, the three of us moved through the gap. We were halted as a Cerberus broadcast went to all their omni-tools, saying we would get them killed and that "Cerberus was their only safe solution."

"Assholes." Jack said with anger, dismissing the transmission. Some of her students didn't look as confident.

"_Damn it, their messaging everyone._" Kahlee remarked quickly with a lot of anger. "_Students, switch your omni-tools over to privacy mode so they can't track you._"

"What... if they're not lying?" The one called Rodriguez asked, sounding really worried.

"You've already fought and stood your ground against Cerberus, and trust me when I say this..." I started, stepping towards them. "Both me and your brilliant instructor have experienced first-hand Cerberus hospitality. It not something you want to go through."

"Come on, Rodriguez, they're only asking nicely cause you scared'em in that last fight." Jack encouraged, stepping towards her. "So take your balls out of your purse, and kick some ass."

"Yes, ma'am." Rodriguez agreed with new-found determination.

"Let's get moving before they can further fortify their positions." I hurried, as the three of us quickly moved in. The next door opened to a large preserve area, complete with rocks, trees, and even an artificial sky. The calmness a setting like this would normally evoke in a student would be hard to get with four squads of Cerberus troops and an Atlas mech around you. The three of us barely made it to cover as a missile launched from the Atlas impacted on a tree in front of us, sending a shower of splinters, sparks, and fire through the air.

"Well, this is off to a great start..." John remarked bitterly, peaking over the cover quickly before a hail of superheated plasma forced him back down. "What should we do?"

"We're out of HE grenades, so we'll have to use your rocket launcher." I thought out loud quickly, gunfire causing shredded grass to fly through the air. "Run to the left and pepper that Atlas, while Allen and I go down the middle and provide covering fire."

"Sounds good." Allen agreed, as John readied his M-77.

"Ready... go!" I shouted, as we broke off from each other. Allen paved down heavy suppressing fire with his Spitfire, as John repeatedly launched guided rockets as the Atlas. I took aim at two engineers who were attempting to set up turrets, dropping them before they could even get to first base.

"Sean, up here!" Jack shouted from the second floor, as I got back into cover.

"Ready to kill some Cerberus?" I shouted up to her, giving her a thumbs up.

"Hell yeah!" She shouted, as a biotic blast flew from the upper levels, smashing one of the troops into the rocks with a sickeningly loud crack.

Jack shouted encouragement and advice to her students as Cerberus troops began to get launched off the balcony. John had succeeded in taking down the Atlas's shields, allowing Allen to fill the glass cockpit with holes, killing the driver. After about one more minute of steady fighting, the Atrium went quiet.

"Everyone alright up there?" I asked quickly, looking up at the second floor.

"Rodriguez took one in the arm... because she didn't watch her barrier!" Jack said angrily, as Kahlee called me again.

"_Commander, me and the other two students have reached the shuttles without being detected._" Kahlee explained. "_They know what we're doing, though. You need to hurry._"

"Understood, we'll be there soon." I reassured, as the line closed.

In the next hallway, there were three troopers attempting to convince several students to take down some shield they had erected. We took them down pretty quickly.

"I'm Commander Nomad of the Alliance, and I'm here to help." I told them, walking over to their shield.

"I didn't buy it from the last guy, and I have no reason to buy it now." The scared woman said quickly, as a man crouching next to the emitter began reciting mathematical equations. I remembered that voice.

"Wait... are you David Archer?" I asked, crouching next to the shield and focusing on him. "David, I work alongside Commander Shepard... you remember her, right?"

"Commander Shepard... yes... she rescued me from Cerberus...sent me here. Made it quiet." David recalled, looking down at the floor.

"David, I know what happened with Project Overlord." I reasoned, still looking at him. "None of it was your fault."

"Thank you..." He thanked softly.

The students, with saddened looks, lowered the barrier, apologizing before I told them to go with the students upstairs. David stayed there.

"I hacked the security room over there. It's filled with guns. Lots of guns." David said with a stilted tone to his voice. "Next time you see Commander Shepard, tell her I've been counting the days she's extended my life."

"Don't worry, I will." I reassured, putting my hand on his shoulder. "Now quickly, join the other students before more Cerberus show up."

David ran, and as the door closed, me and Allen gave each other knowing looks.

"He looks a helluva lot better than he did in Overlord." Allen remarked, as we walked into the security room. Most of the guns here were outdated, some were captured Cerberus plasma rifles, but there was one rifle on the center table that caught my eye.

"What the hell is this?" I pondered, picking up a heavily streamlined, compact weapon. I looked on the side, and it said "Type-6 Magnetic Propulsion Weapon." I was lost on what that might mean. I decided to give it to John since his M-77 was out of rockets anyways.

We walked through several ruined hallways until opening a door that revealed a hapless Cerberus engineer that hadn't heard the door open. Before John gunned him down, I quickly pushed his plasma rifle back down and held one of my fingers to the tip of my helmet. I pointed my thumb at the unoccupied Atlas mech sitting in the corner, and then they got smiles on their faces.

I mimicked the act of doing rock, paper, scissors with my fist, instantly getting my intention across. John quietly switched hands as we quietly did rock, paper, scissors to decide who would get to hijack the mech. Allen lost first to me and John, and John barely lost to my rock. I then motioned Allen to take out the engineer.

Allen stabbed the engineer in the neck with his omni-blade, as I quickly climbed into the mech, strapping myself in and closing the windshield. The mech groaned to life as Allen and John ran ahead, and I brought up the rear. Jack and the students were under heavy fire up ahead, so I helped them out a bit by blowing the encamped troops to small pieces with the missile launcher.

"Sean, watch your ass!" Jack shouted, as a lot of troops began to pour out of the doors behind us.

I continued to cover the students with the Atlas for three minutes, until a fresh Atlas came from where we entered and began laying down heavy gunfire. I got to see first-hand what that weird "rifle" I gave John does. He pulled the trigger, allowing it to charge as a bunch of coils outside of the barrel began to glow orange with heat. It then fired, both knocking John over, and blowing a hole directly through the hostile mech. It instantly killed the driver and ruptured the mech's power core, causing it to go up in flames.

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, what the hell!?" John shouted in surprise, putting the rifle back on his back and regaining his footing.

"Shut up and keep the heat off the students!" I refocused, pushing my new-found respect for that weapon into the back of my head.

About two more minutes passed before the fighting had calmed down and Jack shouted that we were clear, and to hurry before backup arrives. I quickly unstrapped myself and jumped out of the mech, as the three of us made a beeline for the shuttles. Sydney had managed to get the cruisers away from the station again, but we had very little time before they came back.

Kahlee quickly unlocked the shuttles and herded the students aboard, as Jack looked around in confusion.

"Where the hell is Rodriguez?" Jack shouted in frustration, as she could be seen running from Cerberus reinforcements on the other side of the large window, cowering behind a bench as they closed in on her.

"She needs help!" I shouted, shooting several times at the thick glass.

"She needs more than that!" Jack shouted, charging up her biotics and smashing through the glass, knocking the troopers down. Jack quickly got Rodriguez onto her feet, as we rushed back to the shuttles. One of the troopers quickly recovered and started shooting, but I whipped out my 500. and blew a hole in his skull as the shuttle doors closed and we took off.

"Sydney, we flew out on Cerberus shuttles, tell Bastila to hold her fire." I quickly remarked, heart still racing from the fighting.

"_She's got you on sensors, should just be a minute._" She replied in a hurry, as the line when dead.

"Thank you, Commander." Kahlee thanked, walking over as I pulled off my helmet, exposing my short, sweat-caked hair. "We never would have gotten off of that station if you hadn't come."

"F- forget that. We kicked some ass. Next place we dock, you're all getting inked. My treat." Jack replied, correcting herself again. "What do you guys want? Ascension Project Logo? Glowing fist? Maybe a unicorn for Rodriguez?"

"Screw you, ma'am." Rodriguez replied in a still shaken tone, adjusting her seating.

"I can't believe we got them out alive." Kahlee exclaimed, sounding extremely relieved. "I was going to suggest that they stick to support roles... but perhaps they're ready after all."

Me and Jack looked at each other... I knew my thoughts on this would likely be the deciding factor.

"I think they've proven themselves... but they should still stick to support roles." I said with honesty, leaning against the bulkhead.

"What?! We trained for artillery strikes!" Prangly objected in outrage.

"We don't need any more offensive weapons, we need more defense." I explained, looking at him. "Better barriers, modded ammo... it'll do more good in the long run."

"This is bullshit!" Rodriguez objected loudly, giving me an evil stare.

"Hey, if that's where they need us, that's where we go." Jack stopped her, giving her a disapproving look. "Besides, I'm sure we'll get some shots in."

"_Sean, we have a visual on you, opening the hanger doors._" Sydney radioed in, as the line went dead.

"So Jack... now that you're in the Alliance, are you gonna wear a uniform, or are you just getting officer's bars tattooed on?" John asked with a small smile.

"Screw you, you little f-" Jack stopped again, giving John a death stare.

"That's the seventh time you've done that." Allen prodded, leaning over and looking at her. "What is that?"

"Jack promised to watch her language to maintain the necessary professionalism needed from our teachers." Kahlee said with a small smile.

"What, so does she have a swear jar?" Allen prodded further, with a large smile forming on his face.

"I'm pretty sure we could buy a lot of ships if we emptied out that jar." I joined in, not being able to help myself.

"Cover your ears, kids." Jack said, looking at the three of us. "Lover boy, ginger, and short-round... fuck you."

…


	76. TOOO Announcment

OK Guys... I have to admit, I am in the single-worst writer's block ever right now. Between searching for a new job in Maryland's horrible job market and doing the mountains of college assignments I now have, I don't even have time to play videogames, let alone work on The Odd Ones Out.

Since many of you have been looking forward to the next chapter so much, I'm going to try something that's been drifting through my head lately.

What I'm going to do is open up a contest to you guys for the position of a co-writer in my story. It's completely optional of course, but there are rewards for winning.

The contest entails you taking the first part of my next chapter below, Task Force Aurora, and finishing it to at least ten pages long. If you can make it longer while still keeping it interesting, I'll also throw in a little bonus reward. Regardless of how long it is, It must be well-written and interesting to read, and I will point out anything I don't like if it bothers me.

The chapter involves Sean meeting up with Dr. Bryson on the Citadel after rescuing those people from Grissom Academy. Feel free to get creative with it, but don't go too far.

The things I don't want to see include:

ANY CROSSOVERS I HAVEN'T ALREADY INTRODUCED.

NO OC'S.

NO CHANGING ESTABLISHED CHARACTER'S PERSONALITIES.

Other than those, feel free to change what you want with what I already wrote as long as it stays in the same path I outlined above. If it deviates too far, I'll let you know and you can have another shot at it.

Now, the rewards for best chapter!

You get Emily Shaw, a recurring character in the story for you to customize with your own skill set of choice and a fairly similar personality to the one she has right now. Hackett will convince Sean later in the story to allow her to join The Odd Ones Out.

You become an official co-author in my story, and get to write whole chapters if you so desire! Be mindful that even though you become my co-author, I still have to look over your work.

You get access to all my Work In Progress and Future Chapters to help mold the story in a forward direction. Note, If you decide to be a jerk and leak my future chapters to the public, I reserve the right to remove you as my co-author.

This offer will last for a while, and if I find someone who meets my standards, this post will be deleted and you guys will get a new chapter! Give it a try, guys. If you want new chapters that badly, you unfortunately aren't getting them from me anytime soon.

Wishing you luck, GIR.

…

Sean's POV

I opened the door on one of the many chest freezers that lined one of our storage rooms. I reached in, grabbing two whiskey, Jack Daniels to be exact. The bottles were chilled perfectly, and instantly began sweating.

"You guys put most restaurants I've seen to shame." Jack commented with a small hint of jealously in her voice, as she took a peek inside one of our fridges. "Granted, most of them were on Omega..."

"Very funny." I replied, handing her the bottles. "Let me grab a box of soda then we'll be ready to go."

"Why would you want the soda if you already have the beer?" She asked with a confused look, as I ran over and pulled out a twelve pack of Pepsi cans.

"The CO2 helps alcohol move through your bloodstream faster." I said with a smile, putting the case under my arm as we walked out of the storage room. "Get my drift?"

"Oh yeah." She understood, as the door shut behind us. "Let me give you a little trick. If you overclock your biotic amp, you won't get a hangover later."

"Sounds like a nifty trick." I agreed, pushing the fact that I didn't actually have an amp to the back of my mind. "We're gonna have some fun."

"Jack Daniels?" Jack questioned, looking at the label in curiosity.

"Hell yeah." I confirmed with another smirk, as we stepped into the elevator.

…

One Hour Later

"...nothing will ever beat this one time me and Thomas accidentally hit the reactor core of this shitty little freighter that the Blue Suns had converted into a gunboat." I told Jack, as we sat on one of the observation rooms facing the passing stars. "Here they are, peppering our shields with these ten year old mass accelerators, but one shot from our belly cannon scuttles the entire fuckin' ship... that was one of the best explosions I've ever seen."

"Heh, reminds me of this one time I got really drunk on Omega... some merc wearing this cheap set of Survivor armor tried to get me to come home with him. When he tried to force me, it only took one shot to down his shields and kill him." Jack said, as a more subdued look formed on her face. "Hey Sean?"

"What's up?" I answered, popping open another can of Pepsi.

"I... never really thanked you guys for getting me out of that prison." Jack started, looking down at the glass of whiskey she was holding. "I never thought... shit, I'm not good at doing this kind of thing."

"You never thought you'd have true friends?" I finished for her, taking a sip from my can. "Ah, don't sweat yourself about it, the feeling is mutual. Besides, you have a big family to look after now."

"Ain't that the truth." Jack agreed with a smile, looking up at me as she she took another swig of the whiskey.

My omni-tool began beeping loudly shortly afterward, signaling that there was a priority call from Hackett.

"Duty calls, don't drink all of that before I get back." I quickly said, throwing my hoodie back on as I walked quickly to the door.

"No guarantees." Jack replied playfully, downing the rest of her glass.

Once I had finally reached the comm room, I ran into Kahlee right as she was leaving.

"Ah, Sean, I just finished giving my report to Hackett." She quickly told me, as she took a step to the side. "He's eagerly waiting to speak to you."

"Thanks, Kahlee." I quickly replied, as I stepped into the waiting QEC. Once inside, I should see Hackett standing on his ship's bridge, looking at a datapad.

"Hello again, sir." I greeted with a salute. "I didn't expect that we'd be talking again so soon. What do you need?"

"Well, first off, I'd like to commend you for rescuing the remaining personnel from Grissom Academy." He said, letting his hands drift to his sides. "If your ship hadn't decoded that distress signal before we had, we might not have been able to send a rescue team in time. Good job, son."

"It's my job, sir." I nodded in acknowledgment. "But I'm guessing you didn't call us just to give us a pat on the back."

"You would be correct." Hackett confirmed bluntly. "A new development has occurred on the Citadel, so I'm postponing your meeting with the Admiralty Board for the time being."

"Wow, this must be quite the development if you are putting the admirals off." I said with a sliver of discontent on my face.

"I wouldn't pull you away from something like that without a good reason." He reassured, holding his hand out. "Once you reach the Citadel and drop off the personnel from Grissom, I want you to head over to the Presidium and meet with Dr. Garrett Bryson, the leader of Task Force Aurora. He's an old friend of mine."

"Task Force Aurora?" I questioned, seeing how this had been the first time I had heard about another Alliance Task Force.

"I thought I mentioned them to you before..." Hackett quickly questioned before dismissing it. "I don't have enough time to give you a full-length explanation, but I can tell you that you and Shepard's work uncovering the existence of the Reapers validated a lot of his work."

"I understand, sir." I confirmed, knowing that was enough to get the point across.

"Good. Meet with him, help him with his project." Hackett finished, pointing at me. "What he's working on could hold the key to stopping the Reapers, son. Don't let me down."

"You can count on us, sir!" I replied with a quick salute, as the image of Hackett flickered away.

…

Seven Hours Later

The shuttle landed with it's characteristic thump as we landed at Dr. Bryson's lab. He had a nice place, I was surprised by large it was, considering the limited space here in the Presidium.

"You need me for this?" Sydney asked casually from the pilot's seat, as she flipped her visor up.

"Nah, I think I can handle this." I replied casually, looking back at her. "If I need you for anything, I'll give you a shout."

"You're the boss." She finished, taking out a book from one of the side compartments and throwing her legs up onto the co-pilot's seat.

With that, I walked into the lab and was instantly floored by how packed with stuff it was. I thought my room was packed with the entertainment system and workbenches, but this place... it was crammed to the teeth with ancient artifacts, research equipment, and even a fragment of Sovereign suspended in it's own containment shield.

"Not so imposing now, huh?" I said to myself, aiming my fingers at the chunk and going "pew."

After gloating about our victory years ago, I continued my way towards the talking I head at the other end of the lab. I eventually found the good doctor, talking to his assistant.


End file.
